Identity
by idrivelikeacullen
Summary: E & B's relationship is frowned upon by both sets of parents and they are separated. Will Alice's infatuation with the personal ads help B find her long lost boyfriend?
1. Soulmate

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

He was so warm and always smelled so good. I breathed in deep and sighed as I woke up trying to squeeze him tighter, only to find that I was practically suffocating myself with my own pillow. I jerked upright and let the pain wash over me like it had for the last year, two months, thirteen days and glancing at my clock, twelve hours. I pulled the hem of the ugly giant purple sweatshirt over my knees and dropped my head down and sobbed quietly until I had to get out of bed.

The screeching sound of my alarm brought me back to reality. I slid out of bed and grabbed my clothes for the day. I closed the door on the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My brown hair was in one huge tangle, and the purple circles under my eyes had grown overnight causing my usual pale skin to look almost translucent.

I yanked the purple sweatshirt over my head, folded it carefully and set it on the counter by the sink. As ugly as it was, this sweatshirt was one of my two most prized possessions. The other was the silver ring that I wore on a long thin chain around my neck. I lifted the chain over my head and let it pool onto the sweatshirt before I started the water for my shower.

I thought back to the day that this sweatshirt had come into my life and smiled at the memory.

It was June in California and a beautiful eighty-five degrees outside. School had just ended for the summer a few weeks prior, and Edward had promised that we would do something to celebrate. He had just turned sixteen and had gotten his driver's license. His parents had gotten him a new silver Volvo for his birthday. He came to pick me up at mine and my parent's apartment in Canoga Park, he said that he didn't mind the drive from his home in Westlake Village to get me, even though it would take over a half an hour to travel the 16 miles between our homes.

He had insisted that where we were going be a surprise, and until we turned into the parking lot at the San Pedro harbor I was completely mystified. The temperature had dropped twenty degrees from my home to the waterfront. I didn't have a jacket so Edward insisted on buying me the sweatshirt at the kiosk inside the terminal. There wasn't much to choose from in the way of warmth since it was summer, so we ended up getting the least hideous thing we could, which happened to be the ugliest most wonderful thing that I owned. Moments later, we boarded the 'Catalina Express' and set out to sea.

I wiped the fog off of the mirror to find myself smiling, an expression that I had not seen on my face for 439 days.

Downstairs I found Charlie reading the newspaper and sipping his coffee. I poured a bowl of cereal and ate quietly at the kitchen counter. Besides the fact that he was my dad, Charlie and I didn't have anything in common. I barely knew anything about him. Granted I had only met him 437 days ago. To me my parents were Renee and Phil Dwyer. Renee worked as a hairstylist at a salon in Northridge and Phil was a minor league baseball player trying to make it big. Renee was my biological mother and Phil was my step-father. Phil had adopted me when I was five, because Charlie had given up his parental rights after Renee's request, and he had given me his name. To everyone I knew and loved I was Bella Dwyer, now, however, I was known to the small town of Forks, Washington as Isabella Swan, the Chief of Police's long lost daughter returned home. I was born in Forks and had lived here for nearly a year before my mother left town and left Charlie.

"Ready to go?" Charlie asked while buckling up his gun belt.

I nodded my head and gathered up my school bag. Ten minutes later we were at Forks High School and I was trudging my way to my first class. Creative Writing. It was the only outlet that I had to relay my feelings. I wrote about love but it always had a tragic ending, I wrote about death and it being about freedom. I know that teachers and students alike thought that I was strange. My grades were good and I didn't miss class. They had nothing to complain about.

At lunch I sat alone at a table near the window. I watched the rain form puddles on the walkways and splash against the window pane. Even though it was December, I knew that it would have been sunny and at least seventy degrees at my home in California, here in Forks it was a miserable forty-two and rainy. I laid my head down on my arms and closed my eyes and daydreamed about Edward.

Edward Masen was the most handsome boy I had ever laid eyes on. He was tall and thin when I first met him, but he grew into his lanky body. His eyes were a brilliant green and his untamable hair was brown with natural reddish highlights. What got my attention, though, was his mischievous smile that was higher on one side than the other.

My thoughts went back to when we were fourteen, and were walking hand in hand in the mall where we had just finished sharing a pretzel in the food court. We had only met the weekend before at this same mall and had hit it off immediately. He was funny and smart. At fourteen, I already knew that I was completely in love with him.

We went to different schools and had completely different lives. He lived among the rich and famous and I lived in a small everyday apartment. His parents were Edward Sr. and Elizabeth Masen. His mother stayed at home while his father was a very successful lawyer. I had only met them once and they were anything but thrilled with me. They felt that I was a distraction. They had planned out every move of Edward's life before he was even born, and it didn't include me. My parents met Edward once also. They were nice to him, nicer than his parents were to me, but my mother was obviously not happy with the fact that I was fourteen and had myself my first boyfriend. Renee didn't want me to 'turn out' like her. She had gotten married at eighteen and had me a year later. She didn't want me to get stuck with a husband and a baby, or just a baby. She wanted me to go to college and make something of myself. I did too, but that didn't mean I couldn't do it if Edward was with me.

The bell signaling the end of lunch sounded and I completed my day at school. The rest of my afternoon consisted of homework and laundry. Charlie wouldn't be home until after seven, so I made a small dinner for myself, wrapped saran wrap over the plate I made for Charlie and stuck it in the fridge.

I headed upstairs with an overflowing basket of clean clothes. Suddenly, I tripped on the edge of one of the steps and tumbled backwards towards the floor. My head hit the railing at least three times before I came to a stop at the bottom. I groaned at the pain in my head before everything went black.

I cracked my eyes open slowly to the blinding light that was overhead. I looked around the room to see where I was. There was a curtain to my left and a wall to my right. People were walking fast back and forth past the foot of my bed. I moved to sit up but found my right arm to be weak. My arm had several pieces of tape on it covering the tube that led up to a clear bag on a post. I let my body drop back down to the bed and felt my chest for my 'security blanket'. It wasn't there, my chain, my ring, they weren't there. I felt the panic rise in my chest as I pulled the thin hospital gown I was wearing down away from my neck. The monitors in the room started beeping rapidly as I searched the blankets and the bed for my ring. I couldn't have lost it! Besides the sweatshirt, it was all I had left of him.

He gave it to me on our last day together. Of course, we didn't think it would be our last day. It wasn't an engagement ring, nor was it a promise ring. Edward wasn't sappy like that. We were only sixteen. It was just a ring from Edward to me on my birthday.

He had taken me to dinner at the Melting Pot, and had made me giggle repeatedly when he tried to feed me the chocolate fondue. We went back to his house because his parents were at a party that was hosted by one of his father's biggest clients.

Edward and I went out to the pool house where he was allowed by his parents to keep his stereo, TV and gaming consoles. He gave me the silver ring and placed it on my right hand. We watched part of a movie, but got distracted when we started kissing and messing around a little bit. He pulled back from my lips and looked intently in my eyes. My eyes never straying from his, I reached out and brushed back a lock of his unruly hair from his forehead.

It wasn't planned. We had talked about sex before and had both decided that when the time was right we would both know.

We had taken our time exploring each other's bodies, his kisses and touches made me feel beautiful and loved. The act itself, the connecting of our bodies in the most intimate way, was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. I held him to me as he rested his head in the crook of my neck. Our breathing had just barely slowed when he was ripped from my arms by his angry father and taken from the room.

I waited for two hours in the formal living room of the Masen house for Edward's and my parent's discussion about the end of our relationship. The drive home was quiet except for my angry mother informing me that I would never see Edward again. They just didn't understand how in love we were. They would eventually get over it and Edward and I would be together again.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Once we were home, my room was ransacked. All of the pictures of us, cards, Edward's t-shirt that I slept in, and everything else that connected the two of us were removed from my room. I had slipped off my new ring and stuffed it in my jeans pocket before it was noticed. The Catalina sweatshirt that had not been worn since the day it was purchased had been crammed into the very back of my closet and was overlooked as something that connected me to Edward. That is the only reason that I still owned it.

Two days later I was on a plane to Washington. Edward's cell phone had been disconnected and I didn't have the number to his unlisted house phone. Charlie didn't own a computer so I used the one at the high school on my first day but found that Edward's email address had been cancelled. All of my emails were returned unsendable. I wrote him letters everyday until the mailman brought them to our door marked 'return to sender'. I did everything I could to get in contact with him, but it seemed that he had been removed from the face of the earth.

Edward didn't know about Charlie or about Forks. He certainly didn't know that my last name was changed back to Swan several days after my arrival here. He had no way of knowing to look for me here. I feared that I had lost him forever.


	2. It's Personal

I hopped down from the hospital bed searching for my clothes. I found them in a plastic bag on the side of the bed and dumped it out where I was on the floor. It wasn't there. I started crying while still on my hands and knees.

A nurse popped her head in my curtain and quickly came over to the bed and pushed a button on the wall.

"You need to let me get you back into bed, honey," she said crouching down next to me. "What happened? Did you fall out of bed?"

I began to wail louder when she tried to touch me.

"Nurse Mallory, what has happened in here?" A male voice said.

"I don't know, Dr. Cullen. She was down on the floor crying and will not let me touch her," Nurse Mallory said slightly turned from my direction.

Dr. Cullen came to my side and touched my shoulder. I looked up to his face that was blurred by my tears. He looked fairly young with blond hair and blue eyes. "W-w-where's m-my ring?" I blurted out through my sobs.

"Ring? I didn't see a ring. Nurse Mallory did you see a ring on Miss Swan?"

"No I didn't Doctor, but I will check with radiology. That is the only place she has been besides the ER."

Dr. Cullen had managed to get me back into my bed. I was still very worried that I had lost Edward's ring forever.

"You are going to be fine, Isabella. You hit your head pretty hard, but your X-ray does not show any damage. You can be taken home at anytime. If you feel nauseous or your vision blurs, please come back and let me check you out. Your father is in the waiting area. Would you like for me to get him?" he said while removing the tube from my arm.

I shrugged my shoulders. Nothing mattered to me anymore. My ring was the only thing holding me together. I held it in my hand when I would try to sleep, and I would place my hand over my heart to press it into my skin when I felt uncomfortable.

I slowly got dressed and a nurse arrived with a wheelchair to take me to the cruiser. Just before she shut the car door Nurse Mallory ran out of the door and sprinted up to our car.

"Is this the ring?" she said breathlessly as she held up my chain and my ring swung back and forth.

Relief flooded my system and I reached out wildly to grasp the swinging ring in my hand. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Charlie was quiet on the ride home. I was afraid that since he had seen the ring, that he would confiscate it from me. We pulled into the driveway and before I could get out of the car Charlie spoke. "I know where that ring came from Bella. Your mom would kill me if she knew I let you keep it." My mouth opened to say something before he continued but nothing came out. "I was young and in love once. It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world." He climbed out of the cruiser and came around to help me out. Once I was settled on the couch, he left to go back to work.

Since the ring was out in the open, I slid it off of the chain and placed it on my right hand ring finger. I stared at it for a few moments before I took it off again and slowly slid it onto my left hand. It wasn't meant for that finger, but since I refused to love anyone else in my lifetime, it belonged there to mark me as his.

I didn't stay in contact with my mother once she shipped me away. I have never returned to California. I had my friend Tracy try to get a message to Edward once, that was how I had found out that he was removed from California as well. Six months after my birthday, Mom and Phil moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Phil had been signed to play baseball there. My mother wanted me to come to live there with her and Phil, but I refused.

Everyday I thought about Edward and where he was. I didn't know that much about his family either. He could be anywhere, even out of the country. I just hoped that he was happy and was not as miserable as I was.

At school the next day I had tried to keep to myself as usual, but for some reason I had attracted a stray dog. Most kids left me alone to wallow in my own misery and despair. Today however, things changed. Mike Newton stood over me at my lab table in biology. I tried to ignore him but he spoke to me anyway.

"So Bella, I was wondering if you would like to go to the Homecoming dance next weekend."

Was this some sort of joke? My eyes darted up to meet his hopeful ones and I realized that he was serious. "Thanks Mike, but no. I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Come on Bella, it will be fun. You've been here in Forks for over a year and none of us knows anything about you."

"I'm not interested Mike," I almost yelled as I ran out of the classroom.

I waited for the slow moving door closure to push the door completely closed before I let my tears fall. Can't everyone see that I'm a wreck? I look like death, I don't talk to anyone, I never smile, and I rush home everyday just to get away from people.

I was startled out of my crying jag by a small girl opening a stall door and coming out. I had seen her before, I had heard that their family had moved here from Alaska last year, but I didn't have any classes with her. She was short and petite with short black hair. She was always dressed very nice in what I suppose were designer clothes. I must have looked like a homeless person next to her.

"I'm sorry," she said as she began washing her hands. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"S'ok," I slurred. "You didn't know I was going to come in here and have a mental breakdown when you decided to use the facilities."

She smiled at me while she dried her hands. "I'm Alice Cullen, by the way." She held out her little hand for me to shake.

"Bella Dwy…I mean Swan," I corrected. It had been so long since I had introduced myself to anyone I had almost forgotten my name. "I met your dad at the hospital the other day."

The bell for lunch rang loudly and we headed for the cafeteria. "Would you like to sit with me today?" she asked.

I felt comfortable with her so far and she hadn't asked me the usual questions about my personal life, so I agreed. We bought our food and headed to a table that had three people sitting at it. Two guys and a girl. One guy was pretty big and muscular with curly brown hair, the other guy was smaller but tall with wavy blond hair, and the girl was tall with blond hair and blue eyes.

"This is my brother Emmett, my boyfriend Jasper and his sister Rosalie," Alice told me, "This is Bella." I smiled and set my tray on the table.

It was confirmed that Alice and her family had indeed moved to Forks from Alaska a year ago. Her father Dr. Cullen was offered the Chief of Surgery position at the hospital here in Forks and had decided that the family would be better off living in the lower 48 states. She had met Jasper on her first day in Forks and had him wrapped around her petite little finger immediately.

Alice was the Editor of the school newspaper, a job she took very seriously. She and Emmett had only been here in Forks for just a year and they were widely known. I had been here just as long, but most people didn't even know I existed.

Alice invited me over after school and practically dragged me to her car when the bell rang to release us. I crammed myself into the back seat so that Emmett could ride in the front. He would have never fit into this tiny space.

The Cullen house was huge. It was a big white house with columns and about a million windows. I stood there with my mouth hanging open before Alice pulled on my arm to get me in the front door. She showed me the living room, kitchen, dining room, solarium, and a giant bathroom that were on the main floor. We headed up the stairs where she pointed out her parents' room, her father's study, a guest room, and Emmett's room.

After two hours of Alice playing with my hair and gossiping about school, I finally was dropped off at home.

Again, Charlie wasn't home, so I made myself a small dinner and headed up to bed. I removed my clothes and slipped into the sweatshirt that had been folded neatly and was lying on my pillow. I curled myself up under the blankets and closed my eyes. I fell asleep turning the ring on my finger.

Edward and I were at the beach in Malibu sitting on a blanket that he'd laid out for us. He had formed a sort of backrest out of the sand so that we were propped up a little. The beach was so crowded it was almost impossible to maneuver down to the water. There were vendors selling all kinds of food and drinks. Edward had bought me a strawberry and lime snow cone, which he had eaten most of. His lips were red from the cold and his tongue was green from the lime syrup. I smiled widely at him before bringing my own frozen lips and discolored tongue to his.

The first 'pop' of the fireworks show sounded and I pulled my face away from his strawberry and lime flavored kisses. He chuckled at me when I gasped at the sight in the sky. "You act like you've never seen any fireworks before." he laughed while placing himself behind me so that I could lie against him to watch the show. He placed one of his arms across my stomach and the other across my chest, lightly gripping my shoulder. I was completely wrapped up by Edward.

The show continued and the sounds of the explosives in the sky went from a thundering 'boom' to a high pitched 'screech'. My eyes snapped open to the pale blue walls of my bedroom. Nearly every morning I was awakened from a dream from a past day I had had with Edward. He was as fresh in my mind as he was the last day that I saw him.

I was dropped off at the curb as usual and watched the cruiser drive away. The first four classes of the day crawled by slower than the last until it was time for lunch. Walking into the cafeteria, I saw Alice and Jasper sitting at a table with several newspapers strewn across it. Alice was looking closely at something when I hit a brick wall in the lunch line. "I'm sorry," I sputtered.

"No problem little one," Emmett chuckled in front of me. "What's for lunch today?" he said as he perused the choices available.

"Mac n' Cheese?" I suggested grabbing a bowl of it for myself.

"You seriously think that I could sustain this," he said gesturing to himself and flexing his muscles, "with just Mac n' Cheese? Come on." He placed what looked to be Salisbury steak on one end of his tray and a plate with a slice of pizza on the other end.

I grabbed a roll and a bottle of pink lemonade before heading to the register to check out. Emmett and I both took in the sight of Alice flipping through the newspapers on the table as we sat down.

"What gives, Alice?" Emmett said before shoving half of the slice of pizza in his mouth.

Alice's eyes darted up to meet ours. "He's back!" she exclaimed jumping in her seat. "I just found another ad for him today."

I stared at her with my eyebrows raised. "Had a little too much caffeine today Alice?" I joked.

"No!" I didn't believe her. "I was checking out the personal ads today in the Seattle Times during my newspaper class when I saw it." She started to fumble with the papers again.

I looked quickly over to Jasper who smiled at me. "She is infatuated with the personal ads. About a year ago she found a weird ad listed in the Times. She checked the next day to find the same ad. She looked everyday for a month and found that the ad ran everyday."

"One day our dad came home from a symposium that he had attended in LA, and had a copy of the LA Times with him when he got off the plane," Emmett told me, "The newspaper editor in Alice read the entire paper from front to back, but freaked when she found the same personal ad from the Seattle Times in the LA Times."

Jasper continued the story. "She decided to do some research. She went to the library in Port Angeles and checked every major newspaper they had for the ad. And guess what she found?"

"What?" I was intrigued now.

"The same personal ad was in ALL of the papers!" Alice squealed. "He disappeared for a while, but now he's back!"

"What does the ad say?" I asked.

"Well," Alice started, "I don't know if I should say. I have decided to do a huge story on it for the school paper. I'll put in a piece of the story in every issue for the next few months. It will be great! Maybe I could even win a Journalism award for it. So if I tell you about it, then it won't want to read it."

I rolled my eyes at her. "I'm so sure Alice. I promise to read your story even if you tell me about it now."

She thought about it for a minute scrunching up her face with indecision. "Nope, you will find out with the rest of the school population." She grinned and stood from the table.

The bell sounded signaling the end of the lunch period and we all packed up our things to head to our last classes of the day.


	3. Kisses

My first _real_ kiss was at fourteen. So what if I had kissed Kevin Ramsay behind the bushes in the park at age five, and again at six? It didn't count when I kissed Jeremy Fuller at Tracy's thirteenth birthday party, on a dare. Those kisses were nothing worth talking about, just small pecks on the lips. Those kisses weren't the 'lip-tingling-million-butterflies-loose-in-the-stomach-tilt-the-Earth-on-it's-axis' first kiss that I shared with Edward. Even though it was awkward, and almost public, it was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my fourteen years on this planet.

We were about to part ways at the mall. We had been holding hands all day, and when it came time for me to catch my bus home, and for Edward to call for his father's assistant to pick him up, we kissed 'good-bye' in the parking structure.

He'd stopped me just at the edge of the structure, one more step and we'd be out in the open. We were standing only inches apart, staring into each other's eyes. Edward leaned down and barely brushed his lips against mine, and then waited for my reaction. I smiled, then he smiled crookedly back at me. Our lips touched again, only this time his lips stayed pressed against mine. I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I settled on resting them on his shoulders. His hands loosely held onto each side of my waist. We pulled apart from each other, and Edward took my hand. He walked me the rest of the way to my bus stop, waited for the bus, and waved at me as the bus pulled away from the curb.

My daydreams about Edward were what got me through the day. I still tried to keep to myself most of the time, even though I sat with Alice and the others at lunch most days. I had only gone over to her house that one time. They were nice, and it felt good to be able to have a conversation with someone other than my dad. My mother called frequently to check up on me, but I refused to talk to her. Charlie had to be the go-between and relay to me anything that Renee wanted to say.

I still cried a lot, and still woke up thinking that I had just been with Edward. My dreams were so real sometimes that I was confused when I woke up.

Finally, the Homecoming dance weekend had passed, and Mike started to leave me alone. Alice questioned my decision not to attend the dance, but when she saw the look on my face when she asked, she thankfully let it drop.

Alice's obsession with this new article she was writing about something she had found in the personal ads was taking up most of her free time. She still wouldn't tell any of us about it, she wanted it to be read the 'right way', which meant that it had to be printed in black and white, and in the newspaper.

Jasper was always at Alice's side, his sister Rose gave me the cold shoulder most of the time, but Emmett was always friendly. Emmett and I joked around all of the time. He was kind of like the big brother that I never had. He was very easy to get along with.

Lunchtime had become my favorite part of the day. It was the time that I felt almost normal. At lunch I was just a high school girl sitting with friends and gossiping, instead of my usual self that was on the verge of tears all day.

Sitting at lunch, I couldn't help but laugh as Emmett stuck nearly an entire cheeseburger in his mouth all at once. I also noticed Rose's glare in my direction when I did laugh.

"God, Emmett, doesn't your momma feed you?" Jasper scolded holding out a napkin to Emmett.

"It's not that," Emmett said before swallowing and wiping his mouth, "I just _looove_ cheeseburgers!"

"Emmett, you love all things junk food," Alice said shaking her head back and forth.

I was laughing so hard that my eyes started to water. "So does Ed…_ward_," I whispered the last half of his name. I clapped my hand over my mouth, as everyone, including Rose, looked at me waiting for me to continue.

"Who?" Alice and Rose said at the same time.

I just shook my head and stared down at the faux wood table.

"So, Alice, how's the article coming along?" Emmett said drawing everyone's attention away from me. Thank you, Emmett.

"Um, it's going Ok. I sent in a reply to the ad, but I haven't gotten anything back yet."

"You can talk to him?" Emmett questioned. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, dumbass, how to you think that the person he's looking for is supposed to respond to him?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"Well, what did you say to him?" Rose asked. "Did you tell him you were doing an article on him?"

"Yes, I told him that I was going to write an article because I had seen all of his ads over the last year, and that I also saw them in other papers." Alice shrugged her shoulders. "I just hope that he writes back. It would be great to have actual quotes from him and stuff."

Just before lunch ended, Alice announced that she was having a slumber party with the three of us girls this Saturday.

"It will be so much fun!" she said bouncing in her seat. "We'll do manicures and pedicures, watch movies, and talk about boys."

"I don't think I can go," I said quietly. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, and I certainly didn't want to wake up crying in her house in the middle of the night.

"Come on, Bella. It will be fun. Please?" she begged. "I'll tell you about my _article_…" Alice sang the last sentence.

"Geez, Bella, how can you resist that?" Emmett bellowed. "A newspaper article gets me every time. Good times." Rose looked like she was going to scratch my eyes out. I seriously didn't know what her problem was.

"Fine, I'll ask," I conceded, "I make no guarantees."

I would just come to school tomorrow and tell her that Charlie said I couldn't go. Unfortunately, she had other plans.

After school, Alice waited with me for Charlie to pick me up. When he pulled up, she launched herself at Charlie's window, and asked him for me. He agreed, and now I had to attend an actual slumber party on Saturday.

The rest of the school week went by relatively painless, but now I was forced to spend all day Saturday at Alice's house. Emmett was banned from the activities of the night, and was sent to spend the night with Jasper.

When we pulled up to the Cullen house I immediately wished I had sprained an ankle, or had contracted the Spanish Influenza. I never had like slumber parties. Once we got up to Alice's room, I remembered why.

There were sleeping bags already set up on the floor; several DVD's stacked neatly in front of the TV, and a bunch of snacks sitting in plastic bags on her dresser. The thing that made me groan most of all was all of the makeup and hair rollers on her bed.

This was going to be a long night.

We were sitting in our PJs in the middle of the sleeping bags when the first question was asked. "So, Rose, any of the boys caught your eye yet?" Alice asked her while putting my hair into another roller.

Rose diverted her eyes away from the two of us and shrugged. Alice looked disappointed, but it soon faded when her eyes shifted over to me. "How about you, Bella? I know that Mike Newton is all over you." she giggled.

"I am not interested in Mike Newton." I grimaced. "I'm not interested in anybody."

"Really?" Rose sneered. "Because I see the way you look at _him_. I'm not stupid."

"What are you talking about, Rose?" I asked while Alice watched on.

Rose huffed. "Fine, I'll say it. I know you have a thing for Emmett. I watch you two flirt all through lunch everyday."

Alice outright laughed, as I looked at Rose with my mouth hanging open. How on Earth could she think that I was flirting with Emmett?

"What's so funny, Alice," Rose snapped. "This isn't a joke."

"God Rose, if you only knew," Alice said shaking her head. "I'll spell it out for you since neither you nor Emmett has the balls to say anything. Rose, Emmett has been in love with you since we first moved here."

A slow smile formed on Rose's face. "Really?" Alice nodded her head in confirmation.

Rose turned to me. "I owe you an apology."

"I…I don't know what you mean," I stuttered.

"This whole time, I thought that you were after Emmett." Rose explained. "I have been so rude to you. I'm sorry."

"It's no problem," I said waving my hand in front of my face. "I did wonder why you seemed to dislike me so much. It makes total sense now." She leaned over and hugged me. Alice joined in and we all laughed at her trying to put her tiny arms around the two of us.

"I do have a question though, if you don't mind," Rose asked.

"Shoot," I said coming down from my burst of laughter.

"Why do you wear a ring on you left hand?"


	4. Party

As soon as my brain registered Rose's question, my eyes started to dart around the room. I wanted to focus on something other than Rose's intense stare. I was sure that Alice's face mirrored Rose's at this particular time, so my eyes stayed away from her as well.

My first focal point in the room was Alice's dresser and giant mirror, but I changed my mind once I saw all of the photos that were stuck under the edge of the frame. The photos were of her friends and family, and of course of her and Jasper. My eyes lingered on one photo in particular. It was a close-up picture of Jasper's face with Alice planting a kiss on his cheek. I think that all over the world couples had _that_ picture, I did, and it reminded me of all of the pictures that had been pinned to my cork bulletin board in my old room in California. The pictures of me and Edward that my mother had taken, and I'm sure, destroyed.

My eyes then landed on the vase that was sitting on Alice's bedside table. The vase held one single rose. Edward had given me flowers. It took me less than a second to move my eyes from that spot. Everywhere in the room there was evidence of Alice and Jasper's relationship. She even had a pendant hanging on her wall that said 'I heart Jasper'.

I dropped my eyes to the hot pink fleece lining of the sleeping bag that I was sitting on. I chuckled to myself. The only sleeping bags that we owned in our family had pictures of fish, or cowboys with covered wagons printed on the inside. I was quickly brought back to the present when I felt two hands, one on each side of me, lightly touch my knees. I hadn't even noticed that I was frantically turning my ring around my finger.

Over the last year, I hadn't opened myself up to anyone. I had trusted my mother to care for me, and keep my best interests at hand. It was a real blow to the gut when she had failed me. Maybe it was time for me put myself out there again. What could it hurt? Not me. I was already beyond being hurt. There was nothing that could happen now that would cause me anymore grief than I already had. Alice would know how I felt. She shared the same kind of intense love for Jasper that I felt for Edward. She would understand. Rose would understand too. Hell, she almost ripped out my spleen just for talking to Emmett. I had made up my mind at that point. I would tell them the whole story. What's a slumber party without stories?

When I looked up into their waiting faces I felt a single hot tear fall from each eye. "My boyfriend, Edward, gave it to me for my birthday. It doesn't belong on this hand though," I told them holding up my left hand.

"Bella, you never told us you had a boyfriend," Rose said with a look of shock on her face.

"It's a long story, and it doesn't have a happy ending, I'm afraid." I stalled thinking that they might not want to hear about it.

"We've got all night," Alice said pulling a pillow onto her lap. "Let's have it."

"We met at the mall near my house. Edward had been sent there with his father's assistant to pick up some shoes that his mother had ordered. He was supposed to try them on and take them if they fit OK. He made his driver stay in the car and wandered around the mall instead. We only got to talk for about a half an hour before he was taken away by a very angry driver.

"We made a date to come back to the same mall the next weekend, and that's when we shared our first kiss." That detail only elicited a bunch of squeals from both of them.

"What does he look like?" Alice asked.

"I'm sure he looks different now, but I will tell you how he looked then," I started and closed my eyes so that I could see him clearly in my mind. "He's tall and thin. He played baseball at school so he was slightly muscular too. He has beautiful green eyes, an angular jaw, and the messiest mop of reddish-brown hair you've every seen. And his smile…his smile could stop traffic."

"And then you moved here, and you had to break-up?" Alice asked with a frown.

"No, not exactly," I explained. "I was forced to move here after Edward's parents caught us together in their pool house. We never broke-up. My parents sent me here against my will."

"What were you _doing_ in the pool house, Miss Bella?" Alice snickered.

"We weren't doing anything at the time they came in, but it didn't help matters that we were both…completely naked." I scrunched my face up waiting for the squealing.

".God!" They said in unison.

"Yeah, well, neither of our parents thought that it was as exciting as you two did, and we were separated never to see each other again.

"I've tried to contact him, but his phone was disconnected, his e-mail cancelled, I even tried to get a friend to get him a message. She was turned away at his door. Their butler said that he no longer lived there."

"Wait…a _butler_?" Rose questioned. "Is this kid rich or something?"

"Yeah, kinda, so it would have been very simple for his parents to send him as far away from me as possible. He could even be in another country. I have no idea where he could be."

"Don't you think that this whole separation thing was somewhat extreme? I mean, really, can't they just forbid you to see each other?" Rose was the only one asking questions now. She seemed genuinely interested. Alice, however, was watching me with slightly squinted eyes.

"I know, I thought so too, but Edward's parents were very adamant about my removal from his life. They thought of me as a distraction, a bad influence even. The only thing bad that I did was introduce him to fast food," I huffed and leaned back against Alice's bed. "And I guess it would seem bad to his parents that I took his virginity." I smirked.

"You're such a floozy!" Rose gasped out.

"A girl is not a…floozy…if she waits two years before sleeping with her boyfriend." I told her. "It was totally worth the wait."

Rose and Alice both just rolled their eyes.

"My mom wanted the separation just as much as Edward's parents did. She thought that I would end up pregnant, get married, and ruin my life in that order. I guess since I started having sex with my boyfriend at sixteen, she figured that I would end up just like her, except she was eighteen when she did these things.

"So that's the story of how I came to live here, and the story of the love of my life," I sighed. I felt kind of relived to have said it all out loud. They would never understand how I felt unless their soul mates were abruptly removed from their lives.

Rose reached out and gently squeezed my hand. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Thanks Rose. I've done all I can. I don't know what else to do."

I looked to Alice to gage her reaction. Her face did not have the emotion on it that I thought it would. Her eyes were still slightly squinted and her lips were pursed. "What did you say his name was?" Alice asked quietly.

"Edward."

"What is his full name, please?"

"Edward Anthony Masen." I told her with a confused look on my face. What was she getting at?

"Uh huh, and what is your full name?" OK this was getting weird.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

She started laughing. "You almost had me there for a minute! You're good Swan, very good! You only made one small mistake."

"What are you talking about Alice, what mistake?" I looked at Rose to see if she was as confused as I was. Rose had her head cocked to the side staring at our small friend.

"Seriously Alice, what is your problem?" Rose asked looking very annoyed.

"She had _his_ initials right, but she had hers all wrong. It was good, but you made such a rookie mistake." Alice shook her head at me.

"I think that I know my own initials Alice." Was she mental? No she wasn't really, but how did she know? "Wait, my name is actually Isabella Marie Swan-_Dwyer_. I didn't really think about it when you asked."

"Nice try, but it didn't work!" Alice snorted. "You can't try and cover up your mistake _after_ you let the cat out of the bag."

"God damn it Alice, what the Hell is your problem?" Rose almost shouted.

Alice took a deep breathe before she started to explain. "I should be mad because I told you not to look, but after that story you just told, I have to give you credit for stringing me along until the end when I knew you were full of shit."

My mouth fell open. I could feel the prickly feeling behind my eyes that one gets when they are about to cry. I stood and tried to get my feet untangled from the sleeping bags. Rose jumped up and put her arms around my sobbing form.

"Alice you had better explain yourself." Rose sneered in Alice's direction.

"My article. You got your whole story from my article, right?" Alice said jumping to her feet. "You saw the ad and you made up a story about it. Look." She ran over to her desk and pulled out several newspaper clippings and shoved them into Rose and my faces.

There were multiple ads that said the same thing. They were all addressed to IMD and were signed by EAM. The coincidence was astounding. Could this be real? Could these ads actually be from Edward?

"Where did these come from? How do you contact the sender? Can you call him?" I rattled off.

"Whoa! Hold on Bella. Don't get your hopes up. This could be anybody." Rose said.

"But what if it's not? What if it's really him? I have to know."

"Well, we could respond to the mailbox for this ad, but who knows how long it takes. If he has ads in all major newspapers, he's probably swamped with responses. People love to get into other people's business." Alice explained.

"You have to help me Alice. You know all about newspapers and stuff. I need you to do you some investigative reporting."

"I don't know what I can do." She said furrowing her brow.

"Please Alice, help me." I begged. "I'll give you the exclusive story, pictures and all if it is Edward."

"We'll both help you Bella." Rose stated. "Won't we Alice?"

"What are you guys doing on Monday?" Alice asked. "I think we need to pay a little visit to the Seattle Times' office."


	5. Newsflash

Looking around in the classified ads office in the Seattle Times building, I found my mood to be…giddy? I had never really felt this excited about anything in my whole life. Being here in this office was putting me one step closer to finding Edward.

I was standing in the corner waiting for Alice and Rose to seduce information out of the unsuspecting clerk at the counter.

The room behind the counter was huge. It had over fifty desk cubicles squared off in the middle of the room. The back wall was covered in offices that had windows for walls. It was strange how this room looked just like the newspaper offices in all of the movies that I have seen.

People were running around waving papers and had phones stuck in their ears. I could honestly see Alice in this situation. She had a fire about her that could handle all of this stress, and she wouldn't even break a sweat.

There were people waiting in line to place their ads, or to inquire about one. I felt somewhat uncomfortable standing in this mass of people, so I stepped out into the hall to catch my breath. To my left were the elevators we used to get to this floor. To my right were more rooms just like the one I left, and more offices.

About six doors down from where I was standing a door opened. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the figure coming from the office. He was wearing the dark wash jeans that I loved, a grey t-shirt, and his trademark black boots that he never had laced up or tied. I opened my mouth to call out to him, but nothing but a squeak came out. Luckily he turned and headed my direction.

I waved my hands because my voice wouldn't work. He saw me and the smile that broke out across his face made my heart melt. I started running towards him, but my legs were heavy and I could barely move. Then the hallway seemed to stretch out pulling Edward farther away from me.

"Edward!" I screamed my voice finally coming around and letting me speak. As I yelled his name, another figure emerged from the office. Edward's father. Edward Sr. grabbed Edward from behind and pulled him down the hall and around the corner out of my sight.

Suddenly, like I had teleported there, I was down in the lobby near the front doors. Edward's father was shoving him into a black car. By the time I made it outside, the car had sped away taking Edward with it.

I fell to my knees on the sidewalk screaming his name. "Edward! Edward! Edward!"

I awoke to find myself on my hands and knees in the middle of my bed. I stayed in that position staring at my pillow, watching my tears plop onto my pink pillowcase.

After a few minutes I crawled out of bed knowing that I would not be able to get back to sleep. I went to my window and pulled the lace curtain back. The sun was just coming up. I wiped at my eyes, and picked out my clothes for the day. The only thing that comforted me this morning was the fact that Alice and Rose would be here to pick me up for _school_ today.

The plan was for them to pick me up just in time to go to school. We would then be heading to Seattle for the day. I told Charlie that we then would be going to Port Angeles to shop straight after school and that we would be home for dinner.

I felt bad lying to Charlie. I just hoped that the school didn't call him about my absence today, and if they did, I prayed that the called the house phone. That way he wouldn't worry about me all day while he was at work. I may even beat him home and erase the message before he could hear it.

Charlie had just pulled out of the driveway when Alice and Rose pulled in. We were taking Rose's BMW today. It was bigger on the inside than Alice's Porsche, and since we were three, someone had to sit in the back seat.

After a short stop at the store for snacks and drinks, we were on the highway headed to Seattle. It was going to take about three and a half hours to get there. Alice had Googled the directions and a map.

I sat in the back of the car looking over a folder that Alice was using to keep her notes for her article in. I pulled out the newspaper clippings of Edward's ads and reread them several times. Even though they were barely two lines each, I couldn't help going over them again and again knowing that they had been created by Edward. I couldn't figure out why Alice had so many of the same ads in the folder. After looking at them longer, I noticed that they were from several different newspapers. While flipping through them, I saw the Seattle Times, LA Times, Oregonian, and the news papers from every other state. It looked like Edward had placed ads in the news papers on all of the largest cities in every state.

The first one was the most heart wrenching. Just from the few words, I knew that it was from Edward.

_IMD_

_I'm searching for you, Love._

_EAM_

This ad was the one that ran for nearly a year before he changed it up just recently.

_IMD_

_I fear that I've lost you._

_EAM_

He was giving up, or maybe he was going to change his tactics, I didn't know. What I did know was that I had finally seen the ad and would be responding today. I just hoped that my response would be getting to him immediately. I hoped that it would be an email, something instantaneous. I could barely contain my emotions.

We hit Seattle close to noon, and were getting close to the Times' office building. I was already fidgeting in my seat before we even got to the parking garage.

"You know Rose, I'm starving. Maybe we should get lunch first," Alice said with a side glance to me in the back seat.

"What?!?" I screeched. "I know that you are kidding Alice, but seriously, I can't take the suspense anymore. We _have_ to get into that office right now!"

"Don't worry Bella, we will be going right in," Alice smiled. "I don't know how much more we will be able to do besides respond to the ad. I doubt we will be able to get any information out of anyone."

We hopped out of the car and headed to the elevators that would take us to the lobby. I was slightly relieved to see that the office in my dream was very different from the real office. I didn't want to get the sense of Deja Vu.

Once off of the elevator we headed up to the information desk that was in the middle of the lobby. Alice jumped right in and took control of the conversation. The information clerk pointed us to the elevators and told us to go to the fifth floor. Once we got to the correct floor, we went straight to the classifieds desk.

My heart was pounding with anticipation. I could hardly stand still. I had that feeling in my stomach that you get when you take that first drop on a rollercoaster. Rose placed her arm around my shoulders. "I'm excited too, just don't get your hopes up too high. We may not find anything out." I nodded, and we all three stepped forward to the desk.

The guy manning the desk looked really young, like our age. He was somewhat short for a man, with dark hair that was barely visible due to it being shaved so close to his skull. I almost laughed out loud when I saw the badge around his neck. His name was Clark.

"Hello, Clark," Alice started, "We are looking for some information on a personal ad that you have running in your paper everyday."

"Ok, what ad are you interested in?" Clark asked with a small smile on his face. "We have several." He pulled out the latest copy of the Times and opened is up to the personal ads page.

"This one," she said pointing at the little square that housed Edward's ad.

"Yeah, we get a lot of inquiries about that one. You can use one of the computers in the room across the hall to respond to this ad."

My good mood deflated. We could have done this from home. I could feel my eyes start to well up with tears. I knew it was a stupid reaction, but I had felt like I had broken past the empty feeling of not being with Edward to something else. I think it was hope I was feeling. For the first time since I moved to Washington, I had felt hope. And now it was gone.

"No, we need to know more information than that. We need to get in touch with this person as soon as possible." Alice told Clark.

Clark had the nerve to chuckle at Alice. "We don't give out personal information about our advertisers. You'll have to wait for a response like everyone else." Now he was getting rude.

Alice stared at him with her hands on her hips. Before she could get the next sentence out of her mouth, I let out a small whine and my tears that were on hold in my eyes came out full force.

Alice whipped around to face me. Rose already had her arms around me. "Honey, we will find him. I swear we will." Alice said rubbing my back.

"Wait!" Clark almost yelled. We all turned to look at him. "You're really her aren't you? You're IMD. Oh my God, we were all wondering if you would ever show up!" Clark picked up the phone and started dialing. "I'm getting my supervisor."

Several minutes later we were all sitting in an empty office waiting for Clark's supervisor to appear. The office door had a large window in it and I could see people staring at us from the other side.

A thin woman with light brown hair wearing a grey suit came walking into the office. She came around to the opposite side of the desk and sat down in the large chair.

"Hello. I'm Angela Weber," she said, "I'm the classifieds supervisor, what can I do for you?"

"Well Angela, we would like any information you have on the person that places this ad," Alice said holding the copy of the ad out to Angela, "My friend here is the real recipient of this ad, and we need to find him."

"Wow, this is a surprise." Angela said looking from me to Rose. "I'm sorry but don't I know you from somewhere."

"Yes, I was wondering if you remembered me." Rose smiled. "I'm Rosalie Hale. Our parents are friends."

It turned out that Rose and Angela's parents were indeed good friends. Angela was several years older than us, but had attended Forks High before she went to the University of Washington here in Seattle.

I told her a little about mine and Edward's story after Alice told her that it was off 'the record' and that this news story was an Alice Cullen exclusive. I explained that this ad was definitely from Edward. I gave her his full name, his birth date, and anything else I could that would authenticate that I knew him. She was hesitant to let go of any information. She didn't want to loose her job over this, but she felt like she needed to help me out.

Angela found that the ad was placed by an E. Masen and that it was paid for by a money order from Western Union. That was all she had. At least I knew for sure that this was from him. She even helped me respond to the ad using the computer in her office.

I left the Seattle Times' offices with that tinge of hope still floating around in my body. In Alice's terms, we had a 'lead' on the story. Angela was going to try and help us as much as she could. Her first priority was to find out what Western Union office the money order came from. Once she found that out, I would know where Edward was. At least what city he was in.

Over the next few days I had had happier dreams of Edward and me, but they were usually dreams of things that we had really done together. One of my favorites was of our last day together. The dream consisted of my birthday dinner, the silver ring, and our most intimate moment. It was so real. I could feel his hands gliding over my body, our naked skin pressed together, and his warm breath on my neck when we were finished. I consciously ended the dream and woke up before Edward's father came into the pool house and took him away.

My body physically ached for him. My hands wanted to slide through his soft hair, my lips yearned to be pressed against his, and my arms felt empty without him in my embrace. I knew that when the time came for me to see him again, I wouldn't be able to let go, ever.

Friday afternoon during lunch, Alice got a call from an unknown number. "Hello?" she answered. "Oh! Angela!" She smiled at me. "We've been waiting for your call."

After a few 'uh huhs' and one 'sounds great', she snapped her phone shut.

"Well?" I asked. "What did she say?"

"Boston!" Alice squealed. "The money order came from an office in Boston."

My first reaction was to mentally calculate how much money was in my savings account, because as soon as I could, I was heading to Boston.


	6. Heartbreak

**A/N: Ok so everyone has asked for it and here it is: EPOV! It is kinda weird that you all asked about EPOV just as I intended to stick it in here. Hmm, are you reading my mind? Anyway, enjoy!**

I had always tried to please my parents. I got good grades. I did extracurricular activities. I had played baseball since the 7th grade. It was all for them, all of it. It wasn't like I didn't want to be a good kid, I did, but when I had finally had something important in my life that didn't center around my parents, they took it from me.

I wasn't surprised by their reaction when they had found Bella and me in the pool house, on the bed, naked. I couldn't see any parent being very happy with that scene. It was the extreme way that they had handled it that _had_ surprised me. I mean, separating us for a while, yelling at me, grounding me, taking away my car. Those were things that seemed appropriate, but sending me completely across the nation, and sending Bella God knows where, was outlandish.

I had found out that during Bella and mine's parents conversation the night of her birthday that my parents had bribed hers with money to send her away. And that's not all. My father even sweetened the deal by offering to help Bella's father move up, so to say, in the baseball community. When I had heard that, I had felt sick. I was disgusted with my father. Not only was he manipulating my life, he was manipulating theirs as well. Bella's parents probably didn't know what hit them. That was the force of my father.

My father thought of Bella as a distraction, a distraction from school and a distraction of my purpose in life. I had been fighting with my father over college for the last three years, before I had even met Bella. _He_ wanted me to attend his alma mater Harvard. _He_ wanted me to become a lawyer. My thoughts were different. I wanted to become a doctor and attend Dartmouth. Was that such a bad choice? I would think that anyone's parents would be thrilled to have their son or daughter want to become a doctor. It was a respectable career to most people.

When I got to Boston and was thrust into this ridiculous all-boy boarding school, I was livid. The school had connections with Harvard, so again I was forced into something that I didn't want.

The first thing I did when I got here and was finally left alone, I called Bella's house. The number had been changed and was now unlisted. I e-mailed her and wrote her letters, all of which were returned. She was gone and I had no way of contacting her. My parents decided that I was not to have a car while I was here. I guess that they figured that I would make a break for it as soon as I got the chance. They weren't crazy for thinking that, because I would have, if I had the means to do it.

After several attempts to find Bella, I was at a loss of what to do. It wasn't until my roommate made me go with him to a small get together in town. I didn't want to go, but Tyler had insisted that it would be fun. Fun wasn't what I was looking for, but a few strong drinks were just what I needed. What I didn't know was that while I was there I was going to find a little inspiration.

We walked in the house and were met with a couple of girls as well as a few guys. The ratio of guys to girls was one to one. They had needed me to even everybody out. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes when I realized that I was going to have to hang out with this girl all night. It wasn't as if I could just leave, I didn't even know where I was. I felt bad for her too. She didn't deserve my bad mood. I explained to her that I wasn't interested in engaging in any of the activities that would lead her to believe I had any intention of dating her. Luckily she was OK with it and we ended up watching TV in the living room, and it ended up being the best night that I had had since coming here.

She was flipping channels and landed on that horrid Madonna movie where her boyfriend contacted her through the personal ads. He could find her anywhere with a simple ad in the newspaper. _A simple ad in the newspaper was all it took and she would find him_. I jumped off the couch and hugged and thanked the girl. I rushed to find Tyler and all but pulled him out of the house. I had work to do.

The first few weeks were exciting. I thought that I would immediately get a response from her. I had ads placed in every state. In some states, like California, I had two or three. The weeks went on and turned into months, and still I had nothing. After about four months I started to lose hope that she would see it. I also started to wonder that if she did see it, what would we do to be together. I knew that my father would never allow us to see each other, and I wouldn't be eighteen for over a year and a couple of months. I had to think of something, anything that would make it easy for us to be together once I found her. So I started the paperwork to emancipate myself from my parents. I figured that if I was free from my parents' rule I could go and be with her when she responded.

My father was beyond pissed when he was served with the papers that would separate me from him. He flew to Boston and verbally assaulted me. He left me blubbering in my room. I had never felt afraid of him until that day. My emotions had been all over the place for the last few months and just the tone of his voice had me crying.

I thought for sure that the court would side with me. I was so sure that I had stopped the ads in the papers. It was summer, and I figured that I would leave Boston and search for her myself. Instead I was forced on vacation with my mother in Europe. When I got home and my case ruled in my favor I would go. I had some money in the bank that would support me for a while. Of course, when I would finally turn eighteen I would have more money than I knew what to do with. My grandmother on my mother's side had left me a substantial amount of money in a trust fund. I would be able to live the rest of my life on that money alone.

By the start of the new school year my case had been closed leaving me still in the custody of my parents. With my father being a famous lawyer, I'm sure a few strings were pulled in his favor.

Needless to say, I started the ads up again. Over the year that I had the ads in the paper, I received several replies. I didn't understand why someone would respond to an ad that was obviously not for them. It was maddening. I got hundreds of responses from each paper, but none of them were the response that I wanted. I diligently went through them one by one every day, but was disappointed when I didn't find anything from Bella.

By December I was a zombie. My grades were starting to suffer, and I got my nightly call from my father about it. I didn't _feel_ anymore, and my schoolmates stayed away from me. Tyler even moved to a different dorm halfway through the semester. I couldn't blame him; I wouldn't want to be around me either.

My chest ached. If my heart was still in there, I would say I was suffering from heartbreak. But since my heart was with Bella, miles away, I would assume my ailment had to be from just plain misery. It would serve me right if she had moved on, and had found someone else. I had failed her, and I wouldn't blame her if she hated me. Maybe she had seen the ad, but didn't care anymore. I only had one thing to do that night, protect her. She probably despised me for not being there for her. I just wished I knew for sure.

Mid December I received a response to my ad in the Seattle Times. It was from a high school girl in Forks, Washington that wanted to do a newspaper article about me for her school paper. This was a first. Her name was Alice, and she had seen my ad in several papers and was very hopeful that I would agree to talk to her. Since I wasn't talking to anybody, I didn't reply.

I was supposed to spend Christmas break with my parents in Chicago. My aunt lived there and she was having all of my relatives over for the holidays. I didn't want to go so I didn't get on the plane. I shut my cell phone off and holed up in my room for the two weeks. When I didn't arrive in Chicago and my parents couldn't get a hold of me on my phone, the police were sent to my dorm. I'm sure that my parents weren't just concerned if I was alright, but they were probably more concerned that I would run away to find Bella. They had sent a first class ticket, and first class tickets were completely refundable. I just added that money to my emergency stash. You know, just in case.

The new semester started, and I just went through the motions of living. Eat, drink, sleep, and school. Over and over. My e-mail inbox was overflowing with ad responses, 257 to be exact. I didn't even want to look at them. My hopes would go up just thinking that the next one would be from Bella, and when it wasn't I would be crushed all over again. I honestly didn't think I could handle much more.

Just six more months and I would be eighteen. I would be free to do as I pleased. College could be put on hold. I had to find Bella, if only to learn that she didn't want me anymore. I had to know. When I changed the ad at the start of the school year, I wrote that I 'feared that I had lost her'. Besides it meaning that I feared that I wouldn't be able to find her, it also meant that I feared that she had moved on and left me behind.


	7. Boston

My heart was pounding in my chest. I couldn't believe that we had found him, well almost found him.

"Can I use your phone Alice?" I asked. I noticed that when I held out my hand for the phone, I was shaking. "I have to call the airlines and make a reservation."

Rose grabbed Alice's phone out of her hand just as my fingers grazed it. "Wait a minute," Rose said.

"I can't wait anymore, Rose," I shouted, making heads turn in the lunchroom. "Let me have the phone."

"Bella," she started, "Think about this for a minute. You catch a flight to Boston tomorrow morning…"

"Tonight," I interrupted.

"OK, tonight," Rose continued. "First of all the flight will be ridiculously expensive, second, what are you planning to do once you get off the plane? Wander around the streets of Boston calling Edward's name? Third, it is the start of the holiday break for most schools, including ours, next week. If he's in Boston, he's in school, and if he's in school he'll be on break too. He may not even be in town."

She was right. It was hard to admit, but she was right. I was jumping into this without thinking. But seriously, how could I wait? I've waited long enough. The adrenaline rush that I was feeling just moments ago morphed into overwhelming despair. I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

"I…I'm sorry guys, I'm just an emotional wreck. I can't help it." I whined. Both girls came around to my side of the table and put their arms around me.

"It's OK, Bella, we'll figure it out." Rose said in a soothing voice.

"Yeah, we'll make a plan. You'll see it will all work out. We will find him. I promise." Alice chimed in.

The first thing that we did was to make airline reservations. It was the first thing because I wouldn't stop badgering the two of them about it. They finally relented, and I felt much better knowing that in two weeks I would be in the same city as Edward. We were going to head out on a Monday and return on Friday. Now I knew that once Charlie found out that I was missing, he would send out an F.B.I. search party. I didn't want to worry him any more than necessary, so I decided that I would leave him a note telling him that I was OK and would be home Friday. Of course, I wouldn't be telling him where I was going, or what I was doing just in case he decided to call Renee. I couldn't chance her ruining everything.

Alice had researched high schools in the area, focusing on boarding schools. I'm glad I had Alice because I didn't even think about boarding schools. I mean, Edward would probably be there alone since his parents still resided in California, and I knew that Edward's parents would never let him lease an apartment alone.

Our first and second obstacles were renting a hotel and a car. Everywhere we called insisted that the person renting had to be eighteen. None of us knew of how to obtain fake IDs, nor did we know anyone that looked remotely like one of us so that we could use theirs.

Sitting at the dining room table in Alice's house was when the answer to our problems came crashing through the front door. Literally.

Emmett came bounding up to us grinning from ear to ear with his eyes set on Rosalie. "What's going on in here, ladies?"

I half covered up the map that was spread out on the table. We had been marking all of the schools Alice had found with a red marker, and listing on a separate piece of paper the order we would be visiting them. "There's nothing much going on in here. What are you up to?" I replied with a fake smile.

"Bella. You do not fool me. I can smell a scheme from miles away. I am the master of flying under the parental radar. What's going on?" Emmett said calmly like we were insulting his intelligence by even trying to keep him out of it.

Alice perked up immediately like her ass had caught on fire. "Emmett my brother, my _eighteen_ year old brother." She emphasized. Both Rose and I looked at her with sly smiles on our faces. "How would you like to prove your master scheming skills?"

"Bring it on, little pixie."

"I don't know if you could pull it off. I mean, you'd have to miss school…" I started trying to reel him in.

"I'm in. What ever it is, I'm in." It was clear to me that Emmett could not back down from a challenge.

We filled him in on the plan. We made our reservations at the hotel and at the car rental agency.

Emmett couldn't keep his mouth shut about 'Operation Get Bella's Boyfriend Back', so Jasper was invited to come along as well. I guess it couldn't hurt to have two eighteen year olds with us.

Things were coming along smoothly. We had five roundtrip tickets to Boston, two hotel rooms booked, and a SUV rented for our arrival. I still had to write Charlie's note. I needed it to be so perfect that he wouldn't worry too much. I remembered the conversation that we had on the way home from the hospital. Charlie had said that he had been 'young and in love' once. I know that he was referring to my mother. I just hoped that he understood why I had to do this.

The two weeks leading up to our departure, I had been getting fidgety. I only hoped that Charlie didn't see right through my act. I know that he noticed my better mood. He had mentioned to me that I seemed happier these days. I just told him that I had made some good friends here, and that had lifted my spirits.

Sunday night was almost painful. I was jumpy and couldn't concentrate on anything. I finally headed up to bed. I had told Charlie that I had a headache and that a hot shower and sleep was what I needed to get rid of it.

After my shower I made sure that I had everything packed in my back pack for the trip, and stashed it under my bed. Alice had all of our maps and school lists at her house. The plan was to make it look like we were going to school in the morning. Alice had been picking me up everyday anyway so it shouldn't have looked suspicious. I wrote out Charlie's note and put it with my back pack. I was going to leave it on the kitchen table when I left the house.

I tossed and turned all night. I doubt if I even slept for more than three hours at the most. At five I just got up. I checked out the window for Charlie's cruiser, and found that he had already left for work.

Since I had the time, I took another shower. I figured that it would wake me up. I double checked my back pack one more time and headed downstairs. I placed the note on the table and cleaned up the kitchen mess that Charlie had left this morning. Next I straightened up the living room, and just because I couldn't sit still, I started a load of Charlie's laundry.

Finally at half past six, Alice knocked on my front door. I ran up and grabbed my back pack, flew back down the stairs, and closed and locked the front door.

The five of us sat quietly in Emmett's Jeep until we hit the highway and were headed to Seattle's SEA/TAC airport. We had decided on a Seattle departure due to the price, and the fact that we could get a non-stop ticket to Boston from there.

The conversation picked up once we were out of the Forks city limits. I sat quietly in the back seat looking out of the window while everyone jabbered on and on about mundane things.

I closed my eyes so that I could imagine Edward's face in my mind. I'm sure I had a goofy grin on my face, but I didn't care. I must have fallen asleep, because I opened my eyes at the sudden stopping of the car. We had already parked in the long term parking lot at the airport, and everyone was pulling out their luggage from the back of the Jeep.

The five of us boarded the bus that took us from the parking lot to the terminal. Once inside the airport, we all checked in and headed through security and then to the gate.

I paced nervously around the boarding area until Jasper came and put his arm around my shoulders. "Relax. everything is going to work out fine."

"Thanks Jasper, I don't know what I would have done without all of you. I never would have made it this far." Jasper nodded and went back to where Alice was sitting and put his arm around her. I looked over to the four people sitting in the uncomfortable waiting area chairs and realized how much they really cared about me.

"Um…guys?" I said to get their attention. "I just want to thank all of you for doing this for me. I mean, not only are you spending a lot of money on this trip, but you are missing school for me, deceiving your parents for me, and most of all supporting me in this adventure. You all hardly know me, but you have put your lives on hold for me. I don't know what else to say except thank you." By the time I ended my little speech, I had tears in my eyes.

Alice and Rose stood then and both encircled me in their arms. "It's no problem, Bella." Alice said still hugging me.

"Yeah, but this guy had better be something special." Rose told me. "If he's anything like Emmett or my brother, well, I'll have to re-think our friendship."

"Wait. What?" Emmett asked looking confused.

"We just got dissed, bro," Jasper explained.

The three of us girls started to laugh at the stunned boys. Rose pinched Jasper's cheek before sitting on Emmett's lap and pressing a kiss to his lips.

I watched on as my friends hugged and kissed their significant others.

The agent at the gate announced boarding for our flight. Once we were all seated, Jasper in the aisle, Alice in the middle, and me at the window, with Emmett on the other aisle and Rose in the middle of the other side of the row, my smile widened. I was really doing this. I was going to get Edward.

The flight seemed to take forever. I have never realized how long five hours really were.

We collected our bags and rented the car. The hotel we were staying at was centrally located so that it would be easier to get to all of the locations that we were trying to visit.

Besides getting dinner and scoping out our first days schools, we didn't have much time to look around. It had been dark by the time the plane had landed.

The next morning Alice had started calling around to the schools inquiring if an Edward Masen was a student there. Unfortunately the schools wouldn't give out any information on their students. It was worth a try, you never know who you're going to get when you call somewhere. We were hoping that they didn't know the rules.

Finally we left the hotel and headed to the first school on the list. We went into the office and asked to see Edward saying that I was a relative that was hoping to see him while I was in town. We were turned away immediately. While the girls and I were in the office, Emmett and Jasper were out in the halls asking students about Edward. We even went as far as to asking them about their baseball teams, hoping that Edward still played.

Nothing.

And that's how it went for two days. The office staff at each school practically ran us off without a second thought, while the boys asked the same questions over and over to the students. Nobody had heard of Edward. We got excited one time, but it turned out to be the wrong Edward.

On the third day we headed out to a school that was the farthest out of the main part of the city. The only reason that we even were going to look there was because it was one of those kinds of schools where the students pretty much were guaranteed admittance to a specific college. This particular school was one that admitted the most students into Harvard. I knew that Edward's father had gone there and that he had insisted that Edward go there too.

We drove down a long road that was off of the main highway. After a few miles we started to see the outer buildings of the school. It seemed to be the only thing out here. It was pretty isolated.

While looking out of the car window I watched several boys jog along a path that ran along the side of the road.

As we got closer to the school, everyone let out a gasp at the magnificence of the property.

There were several huge brick buildings surrounded by lush landscaping. On the outskirts of the huge lawn were some smaller structures that could have been dorms, as well as tennis courts and what looked like lap pools from the distance we were at.

"Wow," Emmett said looking for a parking space. "Mommy and Daddy must have to pay a pretty penny for their kid to come here." Everyone nodded their heads in unison.

"This has to be it." I was sure of it. If Edward's parents sent him anywhere, it was here.

We all climbed out of the car and headed into the main building to look for the office. Rose, Alice, and I went in the office while the boys headed out to question a few of the students. I noticed that the three of us were getting a lot of looks from the boys in the hallways leading to the administration offices, and then I realized that this had to be an all-boy school. This new information only reinforced my first thought. Edward's parents definitely sent him here.

The office staff was as rude to us as possible, and once again we didn't get any information. We only hoped that the boys were having better luck.

The girls and I headed out the back door of the building before we were spotted going the wrong direction by the office staff.

We stepped out of the building into a huge courtyard. There was a large fountain in the middle with the statue of some guy in the middle. We all started searching for Emmett and Jasper. We should have been able to spot them right away due to the fact that they were not wearing the school uniform.

A gust of wind whipped by us and I pulled my jacket around me tighter. It was sunny today, but January in Boston was just as cold as, if not colder, than Forks.

The three of us stood to the side of the doorway searching the crowd for our boys. Classes must have just released, and everyone was rushing to their next class.

Alice and Rose started to complain about Emmett and Jasper's sudden disappearing act. While they continued to remain irritated at their boyfriends, I kept searching the crowd for them.

My eyes were scanning past a set of double doors when they suddenly opened. My breath caught in my throat and my heart started pounding so hard that I could feel the pulsing in my ears.

From the open doors a boy walked out. His head was down and his hair covered his eyes and part of his face. He was wearing the school uniform which consisted of dark grey pants, and a white button down shirt covered with a navy blue blazer. His shirt was un-tucked and his shirt collar was open with his tie loosened. He carried a messenger bag over his shoulder.

He stepped out of the building and walked to the edge of the steps and dropped his bag at his feet. The breath that I was holding let out in a whoosh when I noticed the shoes he was wearing. Untied, scuffed up, black, leather boots. They were definitely not school issued. The boy looked up and faced the sun. The slight breeze blew his reddish-brown hair away from his face. He was paler than I remembered. He looked like he had had just as many sleepless nights as I did.

Everything around me blurred. The only thing that I could focus on was Edward. Was this real, or was I hallucinating? I couldn't move. I was rooted to my spot. I could hear someone calling my name, but I couldn't respond.

"Bella! What's wrong with her?" Alice's voice asked.

I felt two hands grasp my shoulders and my view was blocked. I was now looking into Emmett's face as he crouched down to look me. I let out a little whimper and struggled to see around him, to see Edward.

"Let's head back to the hotel. This is just too much for her in one day." I heard Rose say, and then I was being tugged back into the main building.

"Edward!" I screeched when I regained the use of my voice.

"What?" Four familiar voices shouted at once.

My arm shot out and I pointed back out towards the courtyard. "Edward. I saw him. He's out there."

My friends rushed me back out the door. My eyes went directly to the steps Edward had been standing on. He was gone. "He was there." I pointed to the steps.

Emmett helped me stand up on the brick half-wall that led to the steps of the building we were in the doorway of.

I quickly scanned the whole courtyard area. I started to panic. "I can't see him!"

"EDWARD!" My four friends yelled together making everyone in the courtyard look our direction.

And then there he was. Edward stepped out from behind the fountain looking irritated that his name had been called so loudly. His features slowly softened when he noticed me standing up on the brick ledge.

Edward dropped his bag and started to slowly walk toward me. Emmett helped me down from the ledge and I headed in Edward's direction.

By the time I was standing less than ten feet away from him, my tears had started rolling down my cheeks. At five feet I could see that Edward's face was as wet as mine. At two feet we both stopped and stared at each other.

"I saw the ad." I said in almost a whisper.

"I knew you would." He said just as quietly before he closed the gap between us in one step.

My arms encircled his waist and I buried my face in his chest. I felt him wrap one arm around my waist while the other went around my shoulders pulling me as close as possible, his cheek rested against my head. I could feel his breath in my hair.

I took deep calming breaths. I was trying to make sure that this was real and was really happening. Usually my dreams wouldn't be so intense that I could actually smell him, but as I took in another deep breath through my nose, I knew that I wasn't dreaming.

I don't know how long we held each other in the middle of the courtyard, and I didn't care.

I lifted my head from his chest and looked into his green eyes. I brought my hand up from his waist and brushed his hair away from his forehead. I smiled when it just flopped back into place. "You hair is longer." I told him placing my hand against his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand.

His smile grew and he opened his eyes again. "I've missed you, Bella."

I smiled and slid my hand that was on his cheek around to the back of his neck as he leaned down to kiss me for the first time in 492 days.

**A/N: Wow, I wasn't going to go this far when I was writing this, but I couldn't help it. I hoped you liked the reunion. As always, thank you so much for the awesome reviews!**


	8. Reunited

**A/N: You all know how to make a girl feel good. Thank you so much for the support for this story.**

When I didn't show up in Chicago during the holidays, and the police had been sent to my dorm room, I received the expected verbal lashing from my father. After that it was my mother that called every other day. I wasn't surprised that my father didn't call again. I knew that he was mad. It had been a toss up as to whether this incident, or having been served with papers declaring my wish to be emancipated, pissed him off the most. Since the emancipation case got dismissed, and my father got his way, as usual, I would guess that the obvious snubbing of my parents and relatives for the holidays was worse. Just by not stepping on the plane caused me to be in charge of the situation. My father couldn't dismiss that.

Now that the holidays were over and the new semester had started, I had been anticipating an impromptu visit from my parents. Chicago was much closer to Boston than Los Angeles. I bet that they don't even go home before I see them next. Any minute now, when I least expect it.

So far the semester has proven to be completely useless. The classes that I was taking were just filler classes. I had plenty of credits to graduate early, but my father insisted that I take the extra AP courses. They counted as college credit and looked good on my college applications. My argument was that it would also look good to graduate early, especially from this ridiculous school. It had been much more challenging than my previous school in California. But again, my father won the argument. Since I had no other place to go, I just stayed here. I would rather be here than back in my parents' house.

I rolled out of bed on Wednesday and found that I had over slept, which was odd since I hadn't been sleeping very well for the last month or more. I hurried to get dressed, and to gather the things I would need for class. I rushed out the door and got to my class ten minutes late. My teacher was visibly irritated, and purposely called on me to answer any questions during the hour.

My next class went by rather painlessly, but in my third class of the day, I fell asleep. It wasn't really my fault. We had been forced to watch a movie, and as always, watching a movie included dimming the lights. I'm sure I wasn't the only one sleeping. I was just the only one caught. My teacher added a thousand word essay to my already heaping homework load. The dumb thing about it though, was that my essay was supposed to be about the movie I had slept through. Today was definitely not my day.

I wanted to throw my books and papers around the room. I wanted to slam desks into the wall, and most of all, I wanted to just simply wrench open the classroom door and slam it dramatically shut behind me. Instead I just tugged at my tie, shoved my books into my bag and marched out of the classroom. "You really showed them, Masen," I said to myself once I was in the hall. I un-tucked my shirt from my pants, and pulled my tie further from my neck, because my disheveled look would certainly cause chaos amongst all who saw me. I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity.

When I pushed open the doors that would lead outside, I was surprised to find that it was now sunny. I stopped on the steps and dropped my bag. I needed to calm down before my next class. I stood there for a moment relishing the sun on my face and the slight breeze blowing through my hair. I took in a couple of deep breaths before I scooped up my bag from the ground and walked down the steps. I had ten minutes to get to my next class. With six minutes left to get there, I took my time walking through the courtyard. While passing the giant fountain in the middle of the yard, I was stopped by Tyler who wanted to know if we had had a pop quiz in English today. Before I could answer him I heard several voices yelling my name. "EDWARD!"

I turned toward the yelling, putting on my most irritated face. I had to step around the fountain to see who was calling me. What I saw took me by surprise.

There were four people waving at me. Two guys and two girls that were not wearing the school uniform, not to mention that the girls didn't even belong here, were flailing their arms in the air. One of the guys was pretty big with brown curly hair, the other one was tall and had blond hair that could rival my own in the disheveled category. The two girls were complete opposites. One was short with dark hair, and the other was tall and blond. Both girls were very attractive. I wasn't sure if they were waving at me, because they weren't looking directly at me. Their attention was focused on the crowd, but each of them would look up to their left every so often. My eyes drifted up to where they were looking, and my heart practically jumped out of my chest.

Bella was standing on the brick railing on the edge of the administration building. Her eyes were searching the crowd. I couldn't believe it. She was here for me.

Our eyes met, and a slow smile spread across her face. I dropped my bag and started walking slowly toward her like I was in a trance. A big guy, one of the people that had been waving at me, helped her off of the railing and set her on her feet. As she walked toward me, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by her presence. She was just as beautiful as I remembered, more even. I didn't even notice until I was ten feet away from her that my eyes were overflowing with tears.

We stood just feet away from each other. "I saw the ad," she said quietly.

"I knew you would," I replied with just a whisper. I couldn't stand being separated from her any longer. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her small frame. She reciprocated by sliding her arms around my waist and burying her face into my chest. I dropped my head to rest my cheek against her hair. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent of strawberries and flowers invaded my senses. She was really here.

She lifted her head from my chest and looked into my eyes. She reached up and brushed by hair from my forehead. "Your hair is longer," she said placing her warm hand on my face. I leaned into her touch and closed my eyes just embracing the fact that she was here with me.

I opened my eyes and smiled at her. "I've missed you, Bella," I told her as I leaned down to capture her lips with mine.

Our kiss started out slow. I hadn't kissed her in almost a year and a half, but the longing that I had for her and the feel of her fingers caressing the back of my neck, made me pull her closer to me. I needed more. I opened my mouth and let my tongue trace along her full bottom lip. I had to taste her. I felt her lips pull into a smile just before she opened her mouth to me. Her hand that had been softly massaging my neck began tugging on my hair. She brought her other hand that was resting on my waist up to cup my cheek and further secure our mouths together.

I knew that we had an audience. I knew that the single security guard stationed on the school's property had probably been called, and I knew that the administration personnel would be making an appearance any second to break us up.

Reluctantly I pulled my lips from Bella's. "We should go," I said. She seemed to understand what I was talking about because she suddenly turned to look for her friends.

The four of them hurried over to us just as the security guard made his appearance driving up on his golf cart. I turned to see Tyler pick up my bag that was still over by the fountain. He waved me off, giving me the reassurance that he would take care of my stuff. Not that I really cared about it. It was just school related items, nothing of value.

Bella's four friends started walking quickly towards the front of the school. Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me along in their direction. They all climbed into a big SUV, and I followed. I kept a hold of Bella's hand the entire time. I was not letting her go ever again.

We screeched out of the parking lot and headed toward the highway. Bella started laughing and it was the most beautiful sound. "I think I just kidnapped you!" she blurted out between giggles.

I put my arms around her. "I don't think it's kidnapping if you have a willing participant." She started kissing me again.

"If I had known that this reunion was going to be so sickly sweet, I wouldn't have come," the big guy driving said shaking his head.

"Hi, I'm Alice," the little dark haired girl said shoving her hand out in front of her for me to shake. "This is my boyfriend Jasper." Jasper reached out and shook my hand also.

"Emmett is at the wheel," Emmett waved, "and I'm Rosalie." The tall blond girl said leaning over the back of her seat in the front.

"Everyone," Bella started with a big smile on her face, "This is Edward."

We decided that the best plan of action for now was to just go to their hotel. Honestly I didn't care what we did as long as Bella was with me. I think she felt the same.

We pulled up to their hotel and parked the car. It was now just after six, and everyone said that they were hungry. The two girls pulled Bella aside to talk to her for a minute. It worried me that maybe they regretted coming to find me. I hoped that they didn't think that they would be in any trouble. If anyone, it would be me that had to face any kind of consequences. Once my father found out about this, well, honestly, I didn't know what would happen.

Alice and Rosalie released Bella back to my arms and they headed into the hotel restaurant. Bella tugged at my hand when I started to follow.

"Um…the girls and I thought that, you know, maybe…we should get room service." She bit her bottom lip waiting for me to reply. I nodded. We walked to the elevators and stepped in.

The five of them had rented two rooms. We entered one of them and I noticed that they had an adjoining door. Bella quickly tidied up one of the rooms by picking up the personal items and clothes in the room we had entered and putting it all into the other room. All that was left in this room was an overstuffed backpack. Bella closed and locked the door that separated the two rooms, and turned to look at me. "My friends were kind enough to give us some privacy tonight. That is if you want to stay."

I walked up to her and placed my hands of either side of her face. "Bella, I'm going to be wherever you are." She smiled and wrapped her arms around me.

We ordered room service, and we talked about the last year and a half that we had been apart. She told me about living in Washington and about her real dad and her new last name. I had no idea that Phil wasn't her biological father.

During our conversation, she had gone into the bathroom to change into her pajamas. I laughed out loud when she came out wearing that ugly Catalina sweatshirt. I didn't have any clothes to change into, so I just wore the t-shirt that I had on under my uniform shirt and my boxers.

We crawled under the covers on one of the beds and continued to tell each other of the lives we had had without each other. She laid her head on my chest and I stroked her hair.

I think we had both dozed off for a few minutes when my phone started to vibrate on the bedside table.

With out thinking, I reached over and flipped it open. "Hello?" I asked groggily.

"It's after eleven o'clock at night and I'm standing in an empty dorm room. Where the hell are you?!" Growled the voice of my father.


	9. Privacy

We had left Edward's school in such a rush. We were never in any real danger, but it was fun to act like we were breaking him free. Of course, out of the six of us, five were technically trespassers. I'm sure that they would have just asked us to leave.

It was nice of my friends to let Edward and I have some privacy once we got back to the hotel. It would have been a bit awkward, for all of us, to have Edward and me making out in front of everyone.

After we had eaten our room service, we settled down into the bed. We talked for hours about the lives we led now. I told him about Forks and Charlie, and he told me about his life in Boston. Any time his parents or my mother and Phil were mentioned, he seemed to be holding something back. It was just a slight twitch of his brow that had alerted me that something was wrong. If I hadn't known Edward so well, I wouldn't have noticed.

I kept touching him the entire time that we talked. I couldn't help it. I was addicted to him. A slight brush of his hair from his eyes, a kiss on the lips, a grasp of his hand, I did anything just to be touching him. After all of this time it didn't seem real to have him in front of me. I wanted to be as close to him as possible.

We held each other close under the covers. We had been apart for so long, but as we lay here, it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. Both of us had shifted around a couple of times changing positions. I had laid my head on his chest, we had had our foreheads touching while lying on our sides facing each other. Our last stop before Edward had fallen asleep was him having his face buried in the crook of my neck, with his arm wrapped snugly around my waist.

I didn't mind that he had fallen asleep. He had looked so tired with the deep purple circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he had not slept soundly for a few days, maybe even weeks. I think that I helped him doze off by running my fingers through his hair. No one can resist that feeling, it's like a sedative.

I couldn't let myself sleep yet. I knew that we only had Thursday and part of Friday to spend together before I had to leave, and go home to Forks. I wanted to stay awake as much as possible. I needed to see him, hear him, and feel him, even if he was asleep.

Edward was warm, like, really warm. I had peeled off my sweatshirt earlier in the evening, leaving me in just a tank top and shorts, and Edward still had on his t-shirt and boxers. And then I thought, if we were both naked right now, we would be in almost the same position as the night we were caught by Edward's parents.

We had only had sex that one time, my birthday, the day we were torn apart from each other. I had never thought of myself as a sexual being. I had only just turned sixteen that day. Prior to having Edward in my life, I had never really thought about sex. Come to find out, a lot of girls my age had already had lost their virginity. I was shocked when my friend Tracy had told me that she had already had sex just a few months before my birthday.

My mother had given me the 'birds and the bees' speech when I was nine. It terrified me. I swore that I would never have sex before I was married after hearing what Renee had to say. She had told me that it was very, very painful the first time, and that the younger you were when you did it, the more it would hurt. She also told me that the girl would bleed, a lot. She knew how I felt about blood. I didn't like it. The smell alone caused me to get sick. Of course, she explained the whole pregnancy thing, and about the horrific diseases that you could catch. But the worst thing she told me was that everyone would be able to tell if you had done it. As if you were marked somehow. After she told me that, I kept looking at people to see if I could tell the difference. My mother even went as far as to pointing out random people on the street. She would say, "See Bella, that young girl has had sex. Everyone can tell, how embarrassing." So, basically, my own mother had put so much fear in me, that I hadn't even considered having sex. I didn't even think about it, ever. Not until I met Edward anyway.

I had so many feelings arise after Edward and I became a couple. I had feelings and urges that were completely new to me. I think that my mother could see the changes that I was going through, and at that time she already knew about Edward and me. She took me to the doctor, and had me put on birth control pills the summer before the tenth grade. Renee had told me that the pills were to regulate my period, but now, looking back, I realized that she was paranoid that I would get pregnant. I heard her tell the nurse that she had wished her mother would have put her on the pill at a young age.

I told Edward of my fears about the pain and bleeding. I didn't mention the part about people being able to tell just by looking at you that you had had sex, because by that time, I had figured out on my own that Renee had lied. I mean, you can say that kind of stuff to a nine year old and expect them to believe you, but not at fifteen. Edward suggested that I ask my doctor, and I did. She had put me at ease about my fears. I was still scared, but I knew now that it would probably not be as devastating as Renee described it, and it wasn't.

The night of my birthday, Edward and I settled into the Masen pool house for a quiet evening of movies. His parents were at some party in downtown Los Angeles. They were supposed to be staying the night, so Edward and I thought that we would have the entire evening alone.

The beginning of the evening started out as planned. We put in a DVD and relaxed on the couch. About thirty minutes in, we found ourselves lying on the couch facing each other, and me half laying on him. Our lips were locked in a heated kiss, and Edward's hand had found its way under my shirt, cupping my breast over my bra. We had gone this far before, and a little bit further.

I broke the kiss, and started squirming around trying to remove my shirt. Edward shifted his position to help me, but the size of the couch was too small, and he practically fell off. He caught himself with his hand on the ground, and one leg hitting the table that was just a foot or so from the edge of the couch. I started giggling uncontrollably at the shocked look on Edward's face. His cheeks were flushed, and he had this adorable 'oops' expression on his face. Edward rolled the rest of the way off the couch until he was on his hands and knees beside it, and then stood up.

He reached out his hands for me to take, and he pulled me up to a standing position in front of him. I was still laughing at him when I put my hands on both of his cheeks. "Maybe we should move somewhere else." I suggested, and he nodded.

The pool house wasn't a big place. It was kind of like a studio apartment. It had the sleeping area and living area in the same room. There was a small kitchenette in the corner with a wet bar, and a fairly large bathroom with a stand up shower, no tub. The sleeping area consisted of a king sized bed that was raised one step up from the living area. The single step separated the room without there being any walls.

Edward's parents used the place for entertaining guests when they held pool parties. The little house was used as a changing area and a restroom for the party so that their guests wouldn't have to trample through their home.

Before Edward and I moved over to the huge bed, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it quickly over my head. The giggle-fest that I was having finally ended when I tugged Edward's shirt up his body and over his head. For a teenaged boy, Edward had the smoothest, nicest skin. He didn't seem to ever have a blemish on him. I ran my hands over his chest and stomach, and his stomach muscles contracted at my light touch. His hands went to my hips pulling me to him, but at the same time he started walking me backwards towards the bed.

When we got to the edge of the bed, I contemplated stripping off my remaining clothes. 'Above the belt' was as naked as we had gotten so far. Edward's lips had moved to my neck, while his hands roamed over my breasts, kneading and pinching at my nipples.

"Ahh…do you think we should…uh…" I breathed out bringing my hands to the waistband of my jeans.

Edward's mouth came off of my neck with a light 'smacking' sound. "Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded, and undid the button and zipper of my pants. I scooted them down from my hips until they could drop to the floor on their own, and I kicked them off. I bit my bottom lip, and looked away from his face. I was feeling a little self-conscious about the new parts of my body I had just revealed, and I still had on my white cotton bikini panties.

Edward let out a whoosh of air from his lungs, before he unbuttoned his own pants, and pulled them off leaving him in a pair of light blue and white striped boxers.

Since I wasn't looking at Edward's face, because I was being shy, my eyes went straight to the front of his underwear. And since I had the sexual mentality of a twelve year old, I started to giggle and my face turned fire hydrant red at the sight of his obvious arousal. I had never seen a naked man before, or even an almost naked man. I suddenly became very nervous.

Edward's own trembling hand cupped my cheek willing me to look up at him. His own cheeks were flushed, and my giggling was probably making him more nervous too. "It's just me," he whispered before kissing me again, and I calmed down. It was just him. The boy I had fallen in love with. I then realized that everything was going to be OK. Sure, this was all new to us, but it was still us. There was nothing to be scared about. I quickly shed my panties, and jumped up on the bed slightly covering myself with the way I had my legs bent and with my hands.

Edward did the same by stripping off his boxers and lying down beside me.

So there we were, two lust filled teenagers lying naked on a bed, exploring each other's bodies.

I'm sure that the blush that had started on my face had covered my entire body at that point.

Edward was very concerned with how this act that we were about to perform could possibly hurt me. We both knew that I would definitely be uncomfortable, but we didn't know just how uncomfortable it would be.

Initially it was quite painful, but the pain subsided after a few minutes to tolerable. Edward positively had a more enjoyable experience than I did, though it didn't last very long. He had apologized quietly in my ear when he had finished.

We were just catching our breath, lying in the same position that we were now, when Edward's father came in.

But it wasn't going to happen tonight. No one would be ruining tonight.

I continued sliding my fingers through Edward's hair, holding him close. I was concentrating on his deep breaths, when his phone that was on the nightstand vibrated loudly.

Edward grunted as he threw his arm out and grabbed blindly for his phone. He found it and flipped it open, his eyes still closed.

"Hello?" he growled.

I could hear a man's voice shouting through the receiver. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could tell he was angry.

Maybe the school was calling because he was missing. Maybe it was just a friend playing a joke. I didn't know.

I watched Edward's face closely. His face went from shocked to annoyed in five seconds flat.

He forcefully pressed the 'end' button without a word, and snapped his phone shut. Still glaring at the phone in his hand, Edward flipped it back open and pressed the 'end' button until his phone shut off, and then threw it to the floor.

"Who was that?" I questioned.

"No one of importance," he said, snuggling back against me, holding me even tighter than before.

The last thing I felt before drifting off to sleep was Edward's lips pressing against my temple.


	10. How to Say Goodbye

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. I'm happy to hear that you like the story. I know that I kinda left you with the same cliffhanger as the previous chapter, but this chapter definitely moves us forward. Thanks.**

Morning rolled around, and I didn't want to move from the spot I was in. My back was crushed against Edward's chest, and his arms were securely around me. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and every so often he would nuzzle his face deeper into my hair. I had no idea how he could possibly breathe back there. Over night my hair would transform from smooth and wavy into a ridiculous mess by the morning.

Today I had to tell Edward that I had to leave tomorrow. I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I had already pushed Charlie to the limit with my vague note that I left him last Monday. If I didn't show up, as promised, I'm sure that the National Guard would be banging down the door to this hotel room in less than twenty-four hours.

The shrill sound of the hotel room phone ringing brought me out of my thoughts. I reached over to the nightstand and picked up the receiver. I didn't even notice that Edward had even woken up until his alarmed face was looking down on me from his sitting position on the bed next to me.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, we're heading down to get some breakfast in about an hour, if you want to join us." Alice's chirpy voice said over the phone.

"Yeah, sure Alice. We'll meet you down there." I said and hung up the phone.

Edward and I both showered and I changed. Edward, unfortunately, only had the clothes that he arrived in, so he was forced to wear his school uniform again. We made it downstairs to the hotel restaurant just as my friends were being led to a table.

All three boys opted for the buffet, and we girls ordered from the menu. When the boys went to fill their plate for the second time, Emmett's third, Alice and Rose both turned to me with small smirks on their faces. I realized then that this was the first time that we had been left alone since finding Edward.

"What?" I asked, my eyes flicking between both of them.

Both girls scooted closer to me like they had a big secret to let me in on, except is seemed that they wanted me to tell the secret. I raised my eyebrows at them in a 'what's going on?' expression. My eyes were still shifting from one face to the other.

"Sooo?" Alice drew out.

"How was last night?" Rose whispered, and Alice scooted even closer. I swear she would be in my lap if she moved again.

I smiled wide involuntarily, and I think they took it as a sign of something else.

"I knew it! Miss Bella is not as shy and controlled as she looks," Alice squealed, and then Rose gave her a dirty look and motioned to the boys with her eyes and a nod of her head. "Oh, sorry." Alice said in a much quieter voice.

I looked over to our boys and saw that they had only made it halfway threw the buffet line. It seemed that Emmett was commenting on each item before giving it a little taste test. If it was good, he would plop a spoonful down on his plate. Jasper was shaking his head, and Edward was sporting his crooked grin between bites of a piece of toast.

"What are you two getting at?" I whispered because I wasn't sure what was going on, and I didn't want the wrath of Rosalie if I was too loud.

"Come on. Details," Alice said while crossing her arms in front of her.

I frowned a little. Did she really want me to rehash my whole conversation with Edward? Did she want to hear about all of my crying and words of love to him? Did she seriously want me to recount all of the kissing? I slapped my hand to my forehead. She wasn't aching to hear about those things. She thought that Edward and I had been closed up in our room last night, naked, and having wild 'I've been away from my lover for over a year' sex. I started laughing.

Both girls' faces were looking at me like I may have lost my mind. I shook my head. "We didn't, you know…" I said in a small voice. My comment was met with complete silence. Luckily, Edward, Jasper and Emmett finally rejoined the table at that time, and I was able to compose myself.

Edward saw my flustered red face, and took my hand that was on the table in his. I looked back at the rest of the table just in time to see Emmett shovel three forkfuls of scrambled eggs in his mouth in quick succession. Luckily, Rose's attention was now on Emmett, and as usual, Alice was focusing on Jasper. I let out a sigh of relief that caught Emmett's attention.

"So, what are you guys going to do?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of hash browns. "You don't have much time since we leave tomorrow."

Thanks Emmett.

"You have to leave tomorrow?" Edward asked frowning. "I guess you can't stay forever." He said mostly to himself.

"I would if I could. I just don't know what to do. If either of our parents caught wind that we had found each other, the whole process would start over. I'd lose you again, and I don't think that I could handle that." I was almost in tears at that point. Edward scooted his chair closer to me, and wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my face into his shoulder trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to emerge.

"It will be different this time, Bella. You will be able to call and send e-mails. You will know exactly where each other are. Edward will be in Boston, and you will be in Forks." Alice tried to explain rationally.

"You can get pre-paid phones, and use P.O. Boxes. Maybe you could see each other on Spring Break." Rose added with a smile.

I know that they were just trying to make me feel better, but I still couldn't get over that physically, Edward and I wouldn't be together. We would have to wait patiently for Edward to turn eighteen in June so he could come to Forks to be with me until he left for college. By then, I would be eighteen and I could go with him. Even though we wouldn't be going to the same school, I promised myself that I would enroll in the closest college to Edward's, and there would be nothing his or my parents could do about it.

"Why don't you just get married, or something? What's the big deal?" Emmett chimed in causing everyone to look at him. "Hop a flight to Vegas. Everybody does it."

"Emmett," Alice scolded, "Were you dropped on your head as a baby? They're only seventeen. They can't get married without their parent's permission."

"Are you sure? You don't know _everything_, Alice."

"Fine. I'll prove it to you. The hotel has a business center. We'll look it up on the computer in there." Alice took the last drink of her latte, wiped her mouth on the cloth napkin, and marched out of the restaurant.

We all looked at one another and Rose shrugged. "I hope you know that now Alice is on a mission to either prove Emmett wrong, or to find a way to get you two married."

Rose, Emmett, and Jasper followed Alice from the restaurant. Edward and I just stood at the table looking at each other.

"I would you know, marry you," Edward started, "I didn't think that it would be while we were seventeen, but I would."

"Me too," I said cupping his face in my hands.

He leaned down to kiss me as I stood on my toes, but before our lips met, an excited Emmett burst back in the restaurant door. "We're waiting for you!" He hollered raising his hands and dropping them to his sides in a huff. He then marched back the way he came from.

I took Edward's hand and pulled him towards the exit. We finally found the business center; it was down a long hall next to several conference rooms. Alice was already on the internet, and typing away at the keyboard.

"Well, I've found a website that lists all of the states and their marriage rules. So far they all say you have to be eighteen or have parental consent. Some insist that the parent or guardian must witness the ceremony, while others just want a notarized document with parental permission." Alice explained. "I can't find any state that will let you get married under the age of eighteen without parental consent, sorry." Alice came over to me and hugged me tight. "We'll think of something else."

We had all gotten somewhat excited about the idea, and now we were all kind of crushed. Edward kept telling me that everything would turn out OK and not to worry. We were both sitting on the counter, and I was leaning into his side. Jasper had his arms around Alice's shoulders. She seemed to be just as upset as I was over the whole thing. Rose was standing over Emmett who was now sitting in the seat that Alice had just vacated.

In just a matter of minutes, I had been looking forward to, but nervous about, marrying Edward, to utter despair because I couldn't. It was already noon, and I realized that I only had twenty-four hours left before I had to get on a plane and leave Edward behind.

"Guys, do you mind if we hang out alone for the rest of the day?" I asked quietly. "Just Edward and I?"

Everyone nodded, and we hopped down from the counter and walked out the door.

I gripped his hand tightly as he steered me back towards the elevators. When we got back to our room, I turned to him and slid my arms around his waist. I pressed my cheek against his chest as his hand caressed the back of my head. Edward's other arm was wrapped around my shoulders, and I heard a small sniffle from him.

We stood there for several minutes before Edward walked us back to the bed and he sat us down. I sat on his lap as he cupped my face in his hands, and wiped my tears from my face with his thumbs. "It will work out Bella…we will work out. I promise."

I traced his face with my fingers as his eyes closed. I slid my fingers through his wild hair which was even wilder with how long it was now. It curled up at the ends at his neck. I let out a small giggle, and tugged on the ends of his hair next to his ears.

"I like your hair long, but it covers up your beautiful green eyes." I told him.

His eyes opened, and he smiled. "I won't cut it then. My father and mother hate it like this. It drives them crazy."

I kicked off my shoes, and scooted back on the bed. I laid back on the pillows and held my arms out to him. "Can we just lie here and hold each other until I have to go to the airport?"

Edward nodded, and then I heard his shoes clunk on the floor before he started to crawl on his hands and knees toward me on the bed. He hovered over me, using his elbows to prop himself up. His longer hair hung down around his face. He brought his lips down to mine and started a slow, loving kiss. I brought my hands down to the hem of his shirt, and slid them under his shirt. I rubbed my hands up and down his bare back under his shirt as he moved his mouth to my neck. As he licked and sucked on my sensitive skin, I knew that he was going to leave a mark. Normally I didn't like it if he left hickeys on my neck, but this time I was happy to receive it. This time it would be something that I could take home with me that proved that he was here, that I had been with him, and was allowed to love him, even if it was for such a short time.

I heard the slam of the door to the next room, signaling that our friends had come back to their room. I heard loud, but muffled voices, and then a knock on the door that connected the two rooms.

Edward smiled against my neck. "It seems our time is up."

I rolled my eyes, even though Edward couldn't see it. I jumped up off of the bed, smoothed down my hair, and opened the door.

Emmett barged inside the room, waving a sheet of paper around, before I could stop him, followed by Rose, Alice, and then finally Jasper.

"Did we interrupt something?" Emmett laughed looking at Edward.

I glanced back at Edward sitting on the edge of the bed; his hair was sticking out at the sides where I had run my fingers through it. I walked over to him and straightened it out. "Yes, you did." I stated sitting down on the bed next to Edward.

"We found out a way for you to get married," Alice told us. "But, you may not like what you have to do."

"What is it? I'll do anything." I said.

Emmett's grin grew into a full blown smirk. "Well, all you have to do is get kno-"

"Let me explain it, please. You'll only make it sound crude." Rose interrupted. "Ok, so keep an open mind."

"Just spit it out Rose." I was getting frustrated.

"We kept researching marriage laws after you guys left. We found that there are a couple of states that will allow you to get married if you are sixteen or older _without _parental permission…"

"Wait, I thought that you looked at all of the states today, and none of them allowed underage marriage. You are confusing me."

"Let me finish," Rose complained, "Maryland, for example, will allow you to get married at seventeen, if…"

"If what?" Edward sounded like he was getting irritated. I was too. They were wasting our last few hours together.

"…if you were..." Rose scrunched up her face like I was going to hit her when I heard what she said. "…pregnant."

"What?!" Edward and I both shouted at the same time.

**A/N: I looked up this marriage stuff online, and as you know, not everything that is online is true and updated. So, with that, keep in mind that this is fiction, and not necessarily true.**


	11. Leaving

"No, no, no, no," I said under my breath, but everyone had heard me. The room had fallen silent by that point, and they all turned to stare at me, Bella included.

"What do you mean? This is a freaking awesome idea!" Emmett whined. "Look, you get her pregnant, which shouldn't be _too_ daunting of a task," He winked at me. Seriously, he winked. "Then you get married, and live happily ever after. Genius."

"Did you forget that nine months later we would be parents? It's a terrible idea." I told him, and turned to Bella. "I'm sorry, but there has to be a better plan than this."

She looked at me, and I couldn't decipher the emotion that was on her face. Before I could say anything, she bolted for the bathroom and shut the door. I stood and went to the door. I tried the knob, but it was locked. "Bella?" I couldn't hear anything coming from behind the door.

With my head leaning forward on the door, and my hands flat against it on either side of my head, I tried to coax her into opening it. "Bella?" I said again. "Please open the door."

I heard water from the sink turn on and off, and then more silence. Then I heard the click of the door to the hotel room. It seemed that my new friends were going to give Bella and me some privacy.

"I'm sorry. If we could get married without the all of the…stipulations, I would drag you down to the Justice of the Peace first thing in the morning. We would be waiting on the front steps for them to unlock the door, but I can't…justify…God Bella, I would do anything for you, you know that, I just can't do this." I can't bring a child into this mess. It's bad enough that Bella's mom and step-father accepted money, amongst other things, to keep us apart. Her mom had always been paranoid that Bella would end up pregnant. Doing this now, would just be the 'I told you so' that Renee could rub in Bella's face for the rest of her life. Our parents wouldn't see it as our last grasp to connect us together. They wouldn't understand that we would have done this out of necessity. They would see two stupid teenagers making an unplanned mistake.

"Bella, I love you. I only have five more months before I turn eighteen. Just five months. I will come to you in Forks. We'll spend the summer together, and then you'll be eighteen in September. In seven months we'll be through all of this. I swear it will work out."

I still didn't hear anything from the other side of the door. I knew that she could hear me. I just hoped that she could understand.

About an hour later I heard a small 'click' from the bathroom door. I stood up slowly, and listened for any signs of movement on the other side. Not hearing anything, I quietly turned the door knob. The door opened. She had unlocked it.

I gradually opened the door to find the room to be mostly dark. The only thing lighting the room was the small nightlight that was part of the hair dryer on the wall. Once the door was opened enough for me to enter, I stepped inside.

I found Bella to be huddled in a tight ball sitting in the bathtub. She had taken all of the bath towels and lined the cold tub with them for comfort. The little trash can provided by the hotel was overflowing with used tissues. My heart broke at the sight. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees, and her hair was curtained around her, hanging in her face. She sniffed once, and then her whole body seemed to shake.

In two strides, I was at the edge of the tub. I climbed in behind her and took her trembling body into my arms. We sat there for a moment, with her sitting between my legs, and me hunching over her back. I curled my legs inward to completely envelope her with my body. I pulled her hair back from her face and neck, and swept it over to one side. I rested my forehead on her shoulder, and whispered out words of love. We sat in this position until her body relaxed into me. I pulled us back to lie against the hard tub. Bella turned into me and placed her head on my chest. One of her hands fisted into my shirt, while I rubbed her back. Her breathing evened out, and I knew that she had fallen asleep.

I woke up with a crick in my neck from lying in the hard bathtub. Bella was still sleeping, but was gripping my bicep firmly. Slowly I sat us up, my back popping from staying still for too long. I shifted Bella in my arms so that I could pick her up bridal style. Once we were out of the uncomfortable tub, I walked us out into the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed. She whimpered a little when I had to remove her hand from my arm.

My clothes were already a wrinkled mess, but since I didn't have anything else to wear tomorrow, I stripped them off before climbing onto the bed. Bella was still dressed in her t-shirt and jeans, and I contemplated undressing her too. I didn't want to wake her up, but she looked so uncomfortable.

I decided to remove her jeans. I undid the button and zipper, and started tugging them over her hips and legs. When they were finally removed, I shifted her so that I could pull back the bed covers, and slip her in.

I laid down beside her, and was about to put an arm around her, when she rolled into my side. She slid her arm around my waist before kissing my t-shirted chest. "Thank you," she whispered, and sighed. "I love you," I responded into the hair on the top of her head.

I checked the clock before I let myself fall asleep. It was just after one in the morning. I only had eleven more hours with her before she had to leave the hotel for the airport.

The next morning, I woke to feather light kisses on my jaw line and neck. I turned my head to the side to check the clock: 8 am. We only had four more hours. I knew that this would be the shortest four hours of my life.

Thinking that I had turned my head to give her better access, Bella slid up onto my chest, and continued her assault on my neck. I groaned when I felt her tongue flick my earlobe.

I turned to face her, and captured her lips with my own. With our tongues sliding together, and her hands in my hair, all I could think of was that this was one of the last kisses we were going to share until her Spring Break. It would be just over two months before we could see each other again.

I reluctantly pulled away from her. "We have a few things to take care of before you go," I said. She blinked, and I could see the sadness in her eyes.

We needed to pick up a prepaid phone for her. I figured that the phone would have a Boston number, so my parents would not be suspicious when they received my cell phone bill.

I urged her into the shower, and when she was finished, I took my own. After a quick call to our friends, we left the hotel, and took a cab to the nearest place that we could buy a phone. She balked at me for paying, but I told her that it was the least I could do since she was the one that flew all of the way here from Washington.

By eleven, her things were packed and ready to go. Alice had checked in on us once, but told us that she and the rest of them were going to give us the remainder of our time alone.

We sat Indian style in the middle of the queen sized bed, holding each other's hands in front of us.

"Five months is a long time," Bella stated.

"I know, but it's the best way," I explained, "It will all work out. I'll be on your doorstep in Forks on June 21st."

"My dad will like that," she giggled, and gave me a beautiful smile. But, just as soon as the smile came, it dissipated, and was replaced with a trembling lip and a tear sliding from her eye.

"Come here," I told her, and held out my arms. She scooted closer, and climbed into my lap. She sat so that her legs were wrapped around behind me, and her arms were wound tightly around my neck.

I buried my face into her neck, and let out a few tears of my own. We sat like that for the remainder of our hour, kissing each other. When we heard the knock on the adjoining door to our room, Bella hugged me tighter.

I glanced at the clock: 12:05 pm. It was time for her to go. She unwrapped herself from my embrace, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Hi, Alice," she said opening up the door.

"Are you ready, honey?" Alice said to Bella, giving me a small wave of acknowledgement.

"Yeah," Bella said with a small sniffle.

"We'll meet you downstairs at the car." Alice left the room dragging Bella's suitcase behind her. A few minutes later we heard the outside door to their room slam shut.

"I guess I'd better go."

"I'll walk you down." I took her hand, and we walked out the door and to the elevator.

We both must have looked like we were headed to meet the firing squad.

Once we were in the lobby, we could see that Emmett had pulled their rental up to the front loading zone. We stepped out of the sliding glass doors and went to the waiting SUV.

Everyone had gotten inside of the car. Bella and I stood outside of her open door. They all waited patiently for us to say our goodbyes. We were both in tears while we kissed and hugged goodbye.

"I'll call you every day," I told her, "More than once a day. You'll get sick of me."

"I won't."

"I'll see you in March, and then you'll have me forever come June." I smiled.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

I couldn't take it anymore. I placed my hands of both sides of her face and pressed my lips against hers. After a few moments, I heard a throat clear. "We really have to go," Emmett said, with a look of apology on his face. I nodded and kissed her once more.

She climbed up into the car, and I closed the door. I could see her tears flow freely now as the SUV pulled away from the curb.

It took all of my strength to hold myself together. I wiped my face with my hands, and then hailed a cab.

It was after one before I made it back to school. I paid the cab driver, and walked to my dorm. When I got there, the door to my room was already open a crack. I pushed the door open the rest of the way, and found my father sitting at my desk with a scowl on his face.

"Where the hell have you been?" He shouted, "Answer me!"

By the tone of his voice, I knew that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. "I was with a friend." It wasn't a complete lie.

He stared at me for a moment. "Call your mother. She's been very worried about you."

I pulled out my phone, noticing that it was still off. I powered it back on, and was not shocked to see that I had twenty-four missed calls, and seven texts. I hit the speed dial to my mother's cell phone. She answered after only one ring.

I explained to her that I was fine, and hadn't been mugged and murdered. I told her that I was sorry that I worried her, and that I would never do it again. Little did she know that was exactly what I was going to do in June. While I was talking to her, I managed to change into a fresh t-shirt and jeans. My father watched my every move like a hawk. I hung up and turned to him.

"I know exactly where you were, and what you were doing." He stated, and registering the panic in my eyes, he knew he was right. "You were with a girl. I can see it in your face. Jesus, Edward, I know that you are a hormonal teenaged boy, but you need to focus on school, not women."

I stayed silent. I was just relieved that he didn't know that Bella had been here.

"I spent a pretty penny to keep that trailer park trash you were hanging out with at home far away from you. You had better not have found yourself another _girlfriend._"

I clenched my jaw to keep myself from yelling at him. How dare he talk about Bella that way? He didn't even know her.

"I've had a lot of time to think about what I'm going to do about this," He continued as if he hadn't just insulted my girlfriend. "I've talked to the school, and we have decided to let you graduate early."

My mouth fell open.

"Your mother and I are going to take you home with us. We have decided to keep a closer eye on you. We have plans for you, and you are not going to mess this up."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

He smiled. "You will still be going to Harvard, and will study Pre-Law. That part is still the same. But, since you have 'spoiled' yourself with that girl by having sex with her, and seem to have found another tramp, my other plans for you have to be rushed."

I squinted at him. He was talking in riddles. I've never heard of there being any 'plans' for me other than Harvard. "I don't know what you are saying. What plans do you have for me?" I was getting nervous now.

"Since you were born, we have been negotiating a marriage for you. Basically it is a merger of families. But, since you can't keep it in your pants, and we can't risk that you could get someone pregnant, we've determined that the best course of action is to make this marriage happen at seventeen instead of twenty-one."

Wait. What? I've never heard of anything like this. Not one word. Again, my mouth fell open. "You can't make me get married. This is 2009, people don't _do_ that anymore!" I shouted.

"Yes they do, and you will."

"Who, exactly, am I supposed to marry?" I wondered if I even knew this person.

"Unfortunately, we've had to go with a less desirable choice. You've downgraded your status by humiliating your family. It is known by some of our social circle what you have done."

"Who?" I asked again through gritted teeth.

"Tanya Denali. Her family and ours figured that by merging we could up our status again. Her family was disgraced by her older sister Irina when she ran off the day of her wedding, and married some riff-raff named Laurent."

I vaguely recalled talk about this. My father was disgusted, and had disassociated himself with them. I remember that they used to come to our Christmas party ever year. Now I knew what happened to them. Tanya wasn't that bad, she was a huge snob though.

"I'm not marrying her."

"You are, and you will not complain. She'll be eighteen in May, and will make a beautiful bride. Now, I've brought in some boxes. Pack up your things and be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon." And before I could complain, he was out the door.

I knew that I would be in trouble with my parents, but I never imagined that they would marry me off for family status. I didn't know what to do. I called my mother.

She said that there was nothing wrong with an arranged marriage. In a revelation that I never knew, she revealed that she and my father were married this way. She would not sympathize with me.

Killing time by packing up my stuff, I wracked my brain for a solution to this problem. I knew why my father had decided to do this while I was still seventeen. That way I pretty much had to do what they said, because once I turned eighteen, I would be free of their reign.

I smiled mischievously at my reflection in my now darkened window. I had a plan. A plan that would get Bella and I married at seventeen.

Checking the time on my phone, and seeing that they would be home by now, I dialed the unfamiliar number. She answered with a smile in her voice.

"Bella, we have a change of plans," I told her, "How do you feel about becoming a mother?"

She shrieked on the other end of the phone, but before she could freak out completely, I explained my plan.

"Bella, love, we're gonna fake it."


	12. Pregnant?

**AN: Thank you so much for the great reviews. It makes me very happy that you are enjoying the story.**

I. Freaked. Out.

When the word 'pregnant' fell from Rosalie's lips…I freaked out.

When silence filled the room…I freaked out some more.

And when Edward quietly voiced his opinion of the idea…I fled the room.

I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, I knew that I didn't want to have a baby, but I also knew that I wanted Edward. At any cost, I wanted Edward. It was stupid of me to lock myself in the bathroom, but I didn't want any witnesses to my freak out.

I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Then I unlocked the door.

Before I could sit all the way down into the bathtub, Edward was there. He had wrapped himself around me. He was comforting me. I felt bad that no one was comforting him.

We spent the rest of the night, and every second until I had to leave for the airport, completely immersed in one another. I hated leaving him at the hotel. I held it together until we turned the corner out of the hotel parking lot, and I couldn't see him anymore.

The flight home was long and boring. The drive back to Forks was the same. My friends spoke quietly to one another, but left me alone. They knew I was in no mood to talk.

We pulled up to my house. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway. I didn't know what to expect when I went in.

Charlie was standing in the living room when I entered. He didn't look mad; he seemed more relieved than anything. I set my bag on the floor next to the stairs, and walked into the living room.

Charlie sighed. "Bella, I read the note you left, and I am trying to remain calm about this. I have been so worried about you. Not knowing where you were, not knowing if you were OK, it was very…unnerving."

"I know. I just had to do this. It was very important to me."

"You've got to give me something, Bells. Are you in trouble? Did you go back to California?"

I didn't know what he would say if I told him the truth. He did say once that he understood young love. I decided to trust him, under one condition.

"I will tell you where I went, _if_ you don't tell Mom. You have to promise me."

"I don't know- "

I cut him off. "Dad, it's nothing bad, I swear, but Mom wouldn't understand."

"Fine, I won't tell her, but if you have done something illegal, well, I won't be able to hold my promise."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's not anything illegal."

I sat down on the edge of the sofa, and he finally sat on his recliner. I wasn't sure if I was sabotaging my relationship with Edward by telling him this, or if everything would be OK. Internally I was debating if I should lie. I wish I could have talked to Edward about this before I ran into my dad. After that thought of being able to talk to Edward at anytime, I felt a little better about the whole situation. Even if this got back to my mother, I still had my new phone. Edward and I would still have a way to communicate. They could move me to Timbuktu and we could stay connected. I wasn't worried anymore.

"I went to Boston. I went to see my boyfriend." Charlie was watching me closely now. His lips parted slightly. "I went to find him. Mom and his parents hid us from each other."

"Bells, I know your mother sent you here to stay with me to keep you away from a boy, but I seriously doubt that you were hidden from him."

I raised my eyebrows. He didn't know anything. "Dad, Edward was sent all the way to _Boston_. I was sent here. Mom even insisted that my name be changed back to Swan. What do you think she was doing?"

Charlie looked confused, and a little upset. The kind of upset that he got after he spoke with Renee on the phone. The kind of upset that would make him retire to his room early.

After a few moments, Charlie retreated to his room and closed the door.

I knew that he wasn't breaking our deal. The phone was in the kitchen. He wasn't calling Renee, but I knew that our conversation wasn't over. Charlie was the kind of man that needed time to process information, sleep on it.

I went back to get my bag from the door, and headed up the stairs to my room. Once inside, I flopped back onto my bed. Edward would be here for the summer. It was the only thing that was keeping me together at the moment. I only had to wait a little over a month to see him again. Spring Break was at the end of March, and then I only would have April, May, and twenty days of June to wait.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a vibration against my right leg. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone. The display read 'Edward'. I flipped it open.

"I was just thinking about you," I said happily.

"Bella, we have a change of plans," he said. "How do you feel about becoming a mother?"

"What? I thought that we decided against that!" I shrieked.

"Bella, love, we're gonna fake it."

Wait. Fake it? How do you do that?

"How do you suppose we do that?"

"My first thought was that we could buy a fake doctor's note, but it seems that that would be pretty costly. I don't have that kind of money. If we could wait until after my birthday, it would be no problem, but we can't wait."

I was a little confused. "We can wait until then if we have to."

"No…we can't. Um, my father was here in my room when I got back to school. He informed me that he has 'plans' for me before my birthday."

"What kind of 'plans'?" I asked. He sounded strange. He was holding something back.

"He told me that he was setting up an…_arranged marriage_." It was so quiet between us on the phone, you could almost hear crickets. "Bella, are you there?"

"Yeah," I whispered. How could this get any worse? We finally found each other. We were going to get married in like seven months. Things were looking up for once, and now this? I swore that Edward Sr. had been sent straight from Hell to just to ruin my life.

"We have to make a new plan. We have to make it look like you are actually pregnant. We need a real doctor's note to get married. I found a state that doesn't require blood tests for a marriage license, and only has a two day waiting period after filing."

Edward was rattling off all of this information, but I was stuck on the part about me actually seeming pregnant. I was sure it wouldn't be as easy as finding a pregnant girl and having her pee on an EPT stick. I was positive that whatever state Edward had found to marry us wouldn't accept a piece of plastic with a pink plus sign as proof of pregnancy.

We talked for about an hour, and we both decided to get Alice and Rosalie involved in our pregnancy planning.

The next day I called the girls and we set up a time to meet. They were both supposed to be thinking of ideas all day until we could get together.

Charlie had left early for work. I think that he was avoiding me. Maybe he just needed more time to think.

I headed over to the Cullen place to meet Alice and Rosalie.

We sat in Alice's room for over four hours brainstorming ways to make me fake a pregnancy. The ideas ranged from stupid to just plain crazy.

One suggestion was that since Alice's father was a doctor, we could steal one of his script pads and forge a note. That was one of the more absurd ideas. I couldn't get Alice and Emmett's father in trouble. Edward's crazy lawyer dad could sue and ruin Dr. Cullen. That idea was definitely out.

Another suggestion was to find a pregnant girl and have her pretend to be me, get the doctor's note and then pay her some sort of payment to keep quiet. But then, it would get another person involved. Plus, this girl would really be pregnant, and would have to keep pretending to be me. Someone would eventually find out, or she would spill our secret. Forks was a small town, people would talk. It would get out.

Weeks had passed and we still had not come up with anything. Edward was no help either. He had already packed up all of his stuff and was forced to move home with his parents in California. It was getting really close to Spring Break, and we still didn't have any clue as how to fake it.

We were sitting in my living room one afternoon after school when Rosalie came up with an almost feasible plan. It was still very risky, but we were running out of time. We only had ten days to figure something out. Edward was panicking from California, and was threatening to drive up to Forks and actually make the pregnancy happen. I wasn't sure if that was just stress talking, or if he really meant it. We decided to go with Rose's plan. If it didn't work then we would be back where we started. No harm, no foul, right?

Two days, and some planning later, we put the plan into effect.

Part one: Alice had to become very interested in the medical field. Much to her father's delight, Alice started volunteering at the hospital. She showed a great interest in Phlebotomy.

Part two: Once the plan was in motion, I was to go to the hospital complaining of a stomach virus that wouldn't go away.

As I sat on the crinkly paper that adorned the examination table, I was wondering if we would actually pull this off.

The doctor that was in the ER that night was an older man that looked like he was about to retire. After the triage nurse, Nurse Mallory, had taken my vitals, the doctor came in.

"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling?" He asked while reading my chart.

"I have been kind of sick lately. You know, throwing up, feeling tired…"

"Hmm, well let's get you checked out." He started by looking in my mouth, eyes, and ears. "How long have you been feeling this way?"

I thought back to January, the last time I saw Edward. We had to make this seem realistic. "I've been feeling sick for a couple of weeks, off and on."

"Alright, lay back," he said waiting for me to reposition myself to lie down on the table. He pressed his hands all over my abdomen. What he was feeling for- I didn't know. I never understood how a doctor could tell anything was wrong with you by pressing down on your insides. Unless you felt pain, I didn't know what they were looking for.

I had told him that a few spots were tender, but I really didn't know how a real pregnant woman would feel. So I gasped and groaned at the places I thought would be right.

"OK, you can sit up now," he said writing something on my chart. "Now I need to ask you some personal questions, OK?" I nodded.

"When was your last menstrual cycle?" Now we're getting somewhere.

"Um…probably a month or more ago, I don't know."

"I see, have you had unprotected sex?" My face reddened automatically.

Now do I answer 'yes' and sound like an ignorant little girl, or do I answer 'no' and look responsible, but unlucky? If this whole charade worked, then people would look down on me already. I didn't think that it would be necessary to make me look even worse.

"No, but I did, you know…with my boyfriend back in January."

"It looks like we need to do a pregnancy test."

"Oh no, are you sure?" I feigned surprise and shock. The doctor turned in the room and pulled out a couple of drawers to find what he was looking for. He turned back toward me and held out a small plastic cup and lid. I just stared at it.

"Take this across the hall to the restroom, fill it with urine and bring it back to me in here."

Crap! I froze wide eyed. We hadn't even though about a doctor wanting urine. Crap!

I took the cup in my hand and wandered out to the restroom. What was I going to do? I saw Alice waiting in her designated spot in the hallway. I held up the cup and shook it. Alice slapped her hand over her mouth.

_What am I going to do?_ I mouthed to her. _Sorry_. She mouthed back

I went into the restroom and stood there holding the cup. Panic was starting to set in. I didn't know what to do.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. "Miss Swan, are you all right?"

I cracked open the door. "I…um…don't have to go." I gave Nurse Mallory an apologetic look.

"That's OK, honey; we'll just draw some blood."

Nurse Mallory walked me back to the exam room and explained to the doctor my problem.

Soon after that, a tray was brought in holding an empty tube, a stopper, gloves, a giant rubber band, a syringe, and what looked like a sticker that had my name and information on it.

The doctor was getting my arm ready by placing the rubber band around my bicep, and having me make a fist. Before he could prick my arm with the needle, I spoke up.

"Can my friend come in, you know, for moral support?" I asked, pleading with my eyes. "She's in the hall."

Two minutes later, Alice was in the room holding my free hand. She spoke to the doctor like she had known him for years. She probably already knew him through her dad. She was using all of her charm to get him to explain the whole process of drawing blood. She went over to his side of the tray and hovered over everything very closely.

The doctor filled the small tube with my blood. I didn't see it though because I didn't want to have to faint or get sick. When he was finished, he started to remove the sticker from the backing to place it on my tube of blood, but he was having a little trouble with it. It was time for Alice to steal the show.

"Here let me help you," Alice said reaching for the sticker. "I have nails."

The doctor released the sticker to Alice and she made an attempt to make it look difficult to remove the sticker. I tried to distract him.

"So, how long will it take to find out," I said with a shaky voice. The doctor turned his head to me wearing a sympathetic smile.

"We are slow tonight. It should only be an hour or so." He turned around and Alice handed him the vial of blood with my name on it. "You can get dressed."

I looked at Alice. She gave me a 'thumbs up'.

An hour later, and me practically in hysterics wondering if we were going to pull this off, the doctor came back in the room.

"Well, Miss Swan," the doctor said, and simultaneously, the doctor continued talking and said 'you're pregnant' and the curtain behind him slid open revealing a very red faced Charlie in full uniform.


	13. Aftermath

**AN: I know what you are saying "We don't have to wait over a week for you to update?" Again, thank you for reading and reviewing.**

This was definitely not the way I wanted Charlie to find out. In my mind, I thought that I would tell him once Edward and I were safely married. He would still freak out, but at least he couldn't put a stop to the wedding.

Charlie and I still had not reconciled completely from my impromptu vacation to Boston. But, things were just about back to normal. I was earning back his trust. I tried explaining the whole situation about mine and Edward's relationship, and my mother's reaction. You know, the time when my own mother had shipped me off to live with my father to separate me from my boyfriend? I didn't understand how Charlie couldn't get that something was amiss with the whole situation. Back when my mother marred Phil, Charlie had given up his parental rights. Now, he had them back, more or less. Technically I was still adopted by Phil, but now Charlie was considered my legal guardian. I guess that makes it easier if there is a problem, such as a medical condition, or if for some reason Charlie had to take me out of the country. Who knows, this was my mother's hair-brained idea.

Now I was coming home from the hospital with my packet of information about being pregnant, and information about my 'options', along with my fresh doctor's note stating that as of today, I was eight weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy the fact that our little scheme had worked because I was currently being driven home by a very disgruntled Charlie.

We got back to the house, and that's when all hell broke loose.

I had barely walked in the door, and Charlie was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. His face was still flushed beet red, but from rage, not flushed like mine usually was, from embarrassment.

"Bella, I am so…angry with you right now! How could you be as irresponsible as this?" He couldn't look me in the eye. "I thought that your mother was crazy for sending you to live with me because of some boyfriend, but now I completely understand. If Renee wouldn't have sent you here when she did, you would have a toddler on you hands already."

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell him the truth. I hated that he was so disappointed in me. I felt lower than low. This whole situation was so unlike me, in fact it wasn't like me at all because it really didn't happen. But, I couldn't tell him that.

"This is the biggest mistake you will ever make." Charlie's eyes darted to mine and quickly shifted away. "Do you realize how difficult it will be to raise a baby? What about college? Did you learn nothing from your mother's and my mistakes?"

"Are you saying that I was a mistake Dad? Do you wish that I was never born? I'm sure I was unplanned, but…" I couldn't finish my statement my tears were flowing freely now.

Charlie's face scrunched up, and he wiped his eye with the back of his hand.

My father was crying. I had never in my whole life seen my father shed a tear. And now, I was the cause of his anguish.

"I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean it like that. Your mother and I love you very much. We just don't love each other anymore. It was too hard for our marriage to work. You were…unexpected, we weren't ready to be parents. I just don't want you to have to have the same fate."

Charlie cleared his throat while I just stood there with my heart breaking.

"What about this boyfriend of yours? What is he going to think? He's in Boston Bells. It's not like you are going to get any help from him."

"I'm going to tell him tonight." Tell him that the plan worked, but that my dad hates me now.

"Well, I'm curious to see what he does. I don't have much respect for him right now."

Charlie left the kitchen, and I heard him stomp up the stairs. Apparently he was retreating to his room. He's spent a lot of time in there lately.

Later that night, I called Edward and told him the news. I also told him about mine and Charlie's fight.

"I hate that I'm not there for you right now. I don't like that you had to go through this alone."

"It's OK. Maybe he'll understand once we are married and have miraculously 'lost' the baby."

Edward was quiet on the phone. I knew that he felt bad that I had to scheme and act out this plan without him. He had told me that he hated how I had to do all of the work, and that I had to disappoint another parent. At least if it was Renee, she was already upset about our relationship, now we have added Charlie to the mix.

The next morning I got up and headed to the bathroom. I stripped off all of my clothes before stepping into the shower. When I got out, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, and out of nowhere, I placed my hands on my flat stomach.

I wondered if at eight weeks, a woman would be showing yet, even if it was just a little tiny bump. I decided not to take any chances, so I dressed in a baggy t-shirt. Alice couldn't even complain about my attire now. I had to pretend I was gaining weight.

Charlie wasn't in the kitchen when I came down for breakfast. I peeked out the window and noticed that the cruiser was gone. It seemed that Charlie was going to be avoiding me now, just like he did when I got home from Boston.

After breakfast, I waited outside for Alice to pick me up for school. On the ride to school, I told Alice of mine and Charlie's fight from the night before. She felt bad that I had to lie to Charlie too. I only had to hold on to this fake baby façade a little while. I wasn't sure how long after Edward and I got married we should wait before I had a fake miscarriage of our fake baby. I guessed a few weeks, or at the longest until Edward was eighteen in June.

School was strange to say the least. People were staring at me in the halls. OK, so I had never been Miss Social, but this was strange for even me. There were whispers and hushed conversations all around me. Mike Newton even stopped mid sentence when I walked into Biology.

I sat down in my usual seat and pulled out my notebook. The next thing I know, Mike was standing over me.

"Hey Mike, what's up?" I tried to make light conversation. I heard a snicker from across the room. I looked over to see Jessica Stanley giggling with her hand over her mouth.

I turned my attention back to Mike when he started speaking again. "So, there's this rumor going around about you."

"Yeah? What about?"

"That you're _with child_." After he said that, Jessica burst into a new fit of giggles.

Holy Crap! How did this get around so damn fast? I was just at the hospital last night. I didn't notice anyone that I knew at the hospital. I knew Alice and Rosalie wouldn't say anything, and I seriously doubted if the boys would have spilled it either.

"Where did you hear something like that?"

Mike's eyes shifted to Jessica. I turned to Jessica's table. "Tell me."

Jessica flipped her hair over her shoulder and muttered something that I couldn't catch. "What?" I almost yelled. I was getting angry now.

"My cousin is a nurse at the hospital. She told me," Jessica finally admitted. "So, who's the father?"

I guess since it was out now, and it would have been the town gossip later anyways, I decided to play their game. "My boyfriend, obviously," I seethed.

"Your boyfriend, huh? I've never seen you with anyone around here. Don't tell me that this boyfriend of yours lives in Canada or something, because that is just pathetic."

"I don't have to explain myself to you." I turned my body back to my table. Luckily the teacher came in at that moment and hushed the class. It kind of hurt a little that they couldn't believe that I would have a boyfriend. How did they think I had gotten pregnant anyway? Just wait until Edward gets here, and then they'll see.

The rest of the week dragged on forever. Sunday was the day that I would be heading out to Seattle to meet Edward in Maryland of all places. I'm sure that Maryland was great, but it just seemed weird to me that I had never been there, yet that was where I would be getting married.

I couldn't wait to get out of Forks. Things at school had escalated. Rumors were flying. They went from anywhere from me being pregnant from my boyfriend, to it being from a stripper, or a male prostitute. When it turned the corner and went to my pregnancy being from wild orgies with Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett, I thought that maybe the mental capacity of the young people of Forks had been altered by stupid aliens or something.

On Saturday, I headed over to Alice's to pack for my trip to Maryland. I decided that it would be best if Charlie didn't see that I was about to disappointed him again by taking off unexpectedly.

In Alice's room, there was a small suitcase filled to the brim with clothes. "Alice, I'm only going to be gone for like, four days. What is all of this stuff?"

"First of all, you have to have a wedding dress." She pulled out a garment bag from her closet. She unzipped the bag and pulled out a simple white dress. It wasn't a wedding dress by any means, but it was perfect. "Secondly, besides having just regular clothes to wear, I packed you a couple of surprises."

"Surprises, what do you mean?" I swear if she bought me any of those designer clothes that she wears, I was going to kill her.

"I just put in a little somethin' somethin' for your wedding night." She waggled her eyebrows at me.

As usual, my face turned red.

She was right though. It would be my wedding night. Edward and I hadn't been _together_ since before we left LA. We didn't even come close to having sex when we were in Boston. If I hadn't acted so stupid on our last night, maybe we would have, but I didn't know. Now I was nervous.

Alice and Emmett would be accompanying me to Maryland as witnesses, and so that we could get a hotel again. Rosalie and Jasper both got in big trouble over that week in Boston. Luckily Dr. and Mrs. Cullen were a different kind of parents. They trusted their kid's judgment, unlike other parents I knew.

On Sunday, I snuck out of the house early in the morning. We had to catch an 11 am flight out of Seattle. Alice already had my bag in the back of Emmett's Jeep along with all of their things.

I jumped in the backseat of the Jeep, and promptly fluffed the pillow that I brought with me to sleep on in the car.

"Are you ready to go get your man, Lil' Momma?" I just rolled my eyes at him. The 'mommy' jokes were getting a little old.

We sped off down the freeway, and made it to the Seattle airport in record time.

The Jeep was parked in the long term lot, we had checked our bags at the ticket counter, and were finally making it down to our gate. It almost seemed unreal to me until I saw something, or should I say, someone very much unexpected waiting at the gate for us.

My eyes were met with the beautiful crooked smile that I had been dreaming about nightly since Boston. I ran past the last two gates before ours, and jumped into Edward's arms.

He was laughing at me while I assaulted his face with kisses.

"What are you doing here?" Not that I minded, but really, we weren't supposed to meet until the DC airport.

"I couldn't wait any longer. It's been torture living back with my parents," Edward explained. "I left two days ago to drive up here."

"You have the Volvo back?"

"Yep, and it's crammed full of my stuff." He looked at me like he was waiting for me to figure something out.

I narrowed my eyes. "Your stuff?"

"Yeah, after we get married, I'm not going home."


	14. Home

I was a prisoner in my own, old home. I wasn't allowed to do anything. Hell, I couldn't even leave the house without one of my father's assistants tailing me. In fact, I think that he hired this guy just to be my personal stalker.

I moved into my old room, but it really wasn't my room anymore. All of my stuff was gone. My books, my CDs, pretty much everything I didn't take with me to Boston, were gone. There was no hint of me even existing in this room, and I couldn't figure out why. I mean, there were three other rooms in this house that were not occupied. Why did they have to destroy my room? I guess they figured that I would not be returning to this house to live here again.

The whole room had been painted this boring tan, and my bed was dressed to match it. I hoped that my parents didn't hire someone to redecorate it for them, because it was ugly.

The attached bathroom had new towels, tan and white ones. It looked like my mother had gone to the store, or had someone go to the store, and buy me all new toiletries. At least whoever she sent knew me; the stuff was what I still used.

It was really depressing. My parents had erased me from the home that I had lived in for sixteen years. I didn't want to stay here.

I almost begged my parents to let me live in the pool house. It still looked the same. But, I was denied. Too much freedom they said. I wouldn't even have to step foot in the main house ever again if I lived out there. It had a private entry, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and it even had a stackable washer and dryer. So, I was stuck living in a stranger's room. Well, not even a stranger's room. It was more like a dead room. Nobody lived in here; it was just for temporary visitors.

After being home for just two days, my mother was bustling around the house with the phone on her ear. She had a wedding to plan, and only four months to do it. It panicked me when she talked about it. It was like she was going to drop the bomb any minute and tell me that the wedding was in a few hours. She planned and planned, spending her whole day talking with whatever people you talk to about setting up a wedding. Little did she know it would be a big waste of time. I wanted to laugh at her because the wedding that I had planned was only going to take like fifteen minutes.

My parents set up chaperoned 'dates' between me and Tanya Denali. We were forced to sit and eat dinner in a restaurant with my father and her father's assistants watching our every move. It was stupid really. Even if I wanted to get to know her, I wouldn't be able to in this environment. These so-called dates actually kept us apart, which I certainly didn't mind. I was glad to have the observers; it kept Tanya from trying anything. The only time that we were alone-ish, was when we were in my car. Our chaperones followed in another car. Tanya kept trying to hold my hand, and touch my leg. I politely told her that it was too distracting for me to drive when she did this. After a couple of tries, she finally gave up.

I talked to Bella every night. She was really stressed about faking this pregnancy. I wished that I could be there for her. She had the hard part. I just had to sit here and wait. I was really starting to panic when we hadn't figured out a good plan to make this work and seem real. I was ready to drive up to Washington and actually make it happen. I could not lose her again.

Finally, with only a few days to spare, Bella called and told me that she had gotten the doctor's note we needed. I was so relieved. She told me about her dad finding out. They had gotten in a big fight. I felt horrible over that. Her father would find out, but I was hoping that it would be after the wedding. I knew that Bella had a good relationship with her father, and now I hoped that it wasn't completely ruined. It wasn't fair to her to lose both of her parents over me. Renee had made her choice, but Charlie hadn't. Then the next night she told me about the kids harassing her at school. I couldn't let her go through all of this alone.

The original plan was to get married over Spring Break, and then I would move to Washington in June. There was no way I could sit by and listen to her sad voice telling me all of the things that were being said about her. I had to make it right. I had to be there to support her. Even if it wasn't a real pregnancy, I felt that I needed to be there. Plus, it would make me look better in front of her father. I had a feeling that he would want to wring my neck for getting his daughter pregnant, but I hoped that he would get over it in time, and welcome me to the family. Welcome me as a son-in-law that loves his daughter, not some punk that impregnated his only daughter, and stole her away from him.

The two nights before I was to catch a plane to DC, I packed up my Volvo with all of my belongings. It was three in the morning, and my stupid stalker was sleeping in the next room. It only took three trips from my room to the car to get everything. And every time I passed his room I held my breath and crossed my fingers that he didn't wake up.

Before I left, I had one more thing to grab. It would be tricky, but it needed to be done. I had a right to it, it was mine anyway.

I snuck into my father's study on the first floor of the house. The door creaked a little when I opened it. It's funny how you can hear a noise like that when you're not sneaking around, and it's almost nothing, but when you are trying to be as quiet as possible, it is the loudest sound ever, and you pray that it doesn't wake anyone. Once inside, I clicked the door shut behind me. I went straight to my destination, the closet. I didn't care about anything else in this room apart from this. I slid the door open, and looked at the safe that was inside. It had an electric keypad instead of the old dial type lock. I typed in the number that I knew from a year ago. It beeped twice, but didn't open. I had a feeling that he would have changed it by now. I went to his desk, and started searching for the code. I knew that he wrote it down in here. He couldn't remember anything if it wasn't written down. I searched high and low, up and under, and found nothing. What could it be? I didn't have much time, and I needed to leave, but I didn't want to leave without this. I sat in his big leather chair eyeing his desk. The rolodex.

I started skimming through his contacts, and nothing seemed like the six digit code I was looking for. At the beginning of the 'M's I found my name. It said 'Edward' and listed my cell phone number. At the bottom of the card there was another number, and it had been traced over a couple of times highlighting it to stand out. No, it couldn't be. My father had to be stupid to use this number. If ever there was a burglar, this would be the number they would try. I shook my head. What the hell, I'd give it a go.

I walked back to the safe and punched in 06-20-91. The safe beeped once and I heard the click of the lock disengaging. I didn't know what to think. My father thought of me when he coded the combination into his office safe. I rolled my eyes at myself.

I dug through a couple of shelves before I found my prize. I shoved the small box into my pocket, rearranged the safe back to the way it was, slid the closet door closed, and left the room.

Our garage was set far enough away from the bedrooms that no one in the house would hear the garage door opening. I thought for a second that I would have a little trouble at the gate, but I had forgotten that it was not manned from about 1am until 5am. I used the remote in the car to open the gate, and sped towards the freeway.

My father was going to blow a gasket when he found out that I was missing along with what was missing from his safe. I had closed my bedroom door to hopefully stall them for a couple of hours. It wasn't unlike me to sleep in until noon these days. I didn't have anything else to do.

I wanted to call Bella during the whole drive to Seattle, but I decided to make it a surprise.

I parked the car in the long term lot at the airport. I had thrown some clothes in a backpack to take with me on the plane. I was a few hours early, so I ate, and then waited near the gate when I knew it was time for them to arrive.

I saw her coming a half of a concourse away. She hadn't seen me yet. She looked happy. I couldn't help but smile.

When Bella saw me, she started running. She dropped her bag to the floor and launched herself into my open arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and started kissing my face all over. I was holding her tight up against my chest; her feet were hanging down loose about four inches from the ground.

"What are you doing here?" She said.

"I couldn't wait any longer. It's been torture living back with my parents," I explained. "I left two days ago to drive up here."

"You have the Volvo back?"

"Yep, and it's crammed full of my stuff." She looked at me closely trying to figure out what I meant by that.

She narrowed her eyes. "Your stuff?"

"Yeah, after we get married, I'm not going home." I put my mouth next to her ear. "We're getting married," I whispered, and her arms cinched tighter around my neck. I pulled back to look at her face. She was smiling a huge brilliant smile. I leaned back in and took her lips between mine.

"Aw, gross, is this what we have to live with for the next four days?" Emmett boomed, laughing along with us.

"We will technically be having a one day honeymoon of sorts," I replied, setting Bella back on her feet. I looked down at her red face, and kept her in my arms. "And it won't be for the next four days, it will be a lot longer than that."

I explained my living situation with my parents, and the wedding planning. They all agreed that it was a good idea. The marriage my father had planned for me would no longer be a threat if he somehow found me. What could he do, drag me back home for a few months and then have to let me go when I turned eighteen? I didn't think he would even bother. They had already removed me from their lives once. All they had to do was scrub that room down again, and forget about me.


	15. The Wedding

**AN: Thank you once again for the amazing reviews. The last chapter didn't really move us along too much, but Edward needed to have his say. Anyway, this chapter moves the story along quite nicely.**

I curled up into Edward's side during the entire plane ride. I was so happy to hear that he would be coming home with me after the wedding.

"I don't think that Charlie will let you live in his house," I told him. Charlie's reaction to me having taken off again was going to be bad enough, but when he found out that I had gotten married? I was cringing at that thought.

"It can't be too expensive to live in Forks. I'll rent an apartment. I have some money, enough to live on until June, at least," he explained, "Will you stay with me in the apartment?"

I smiled. "Of course, you will be my husband after all."

The arm that he had around me tightened and he kissed my temple.

I couldn't wait to have Edward move to Forks with me. I knew that Charlie wouldn't be too happy with the announcement that we would be making once we got home, but he would live.

I didn't know what kind of harassment I would have to endure at school when it was found out that I was married. But then, who cares? I would have Edward, and I would only have to be at Forks High for three more months when we got home.

Today was Sunday. We would head on over to City Hall and apply for our marriage license first thing in the morning. We would have to wait the two days required by the state, and then we would be married on Wednesday. Thursday, we would be heading home…together.

The plane was perfectly on-time, our rental car was ready and waiting for us in it's parking spot, and when we got to the hotel, our rooms were immediately available. So far, everything was going very smoothly.

The hotel was near all of the touristy spots in Washington DC, this way we would have something to do while we were waiting the mandatory two days before we could get married.

We got settled in the hotel, and ordered room service for dinner. We were in Alice and Emmett's room. Alice and I were sitting at the small table near the window, and Emmett was sitting cross-legged on one of the beds. Edward was sitting with his back against the dresser, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

I was eating my club sandwich with a big smile on my face. I kept looking over at Edward while I ate. I think that I was the happiest that I've ever been.

Edward had been discussing our options for living arrangements for when we got home to Forks, but I wasn't really listening…I was just mesmerized by his lips moving while he spoke. I swear that if I was this infatuated with him now, I would only be crazier about him after fifty years or more. This was going to work, I could feel it.

"There are not a lot of apartments in Forks, but there are houses to rent," Emmett explained to Edward, "I could help you look when we get home."

"That'd be great, I really appreciate all of the help that you have given us," Edward smiled.

I finished my sandwich, and crawled down to the floor to sit with my future husband. Edward shoved his empty plate to the side, and scooted me over his left leg so that I could sit comfortable between his legs and lean against his chest. He put his arms around my waist, and continued his conversation with Emmett.

"I suppose I could stay in a hotel until I find something," he said.

"You know what?" Alice interrupted, "You could stay with us until you find a place."

"Heck, yeah, you could stay with us. Jasper stays over days at a time," Emmett started, "Of course, you would actually be staying in the guest room. I don't think that Bella would be too happy if you stayed with Alice." Emmett started laughing hysterically, while Alice just blushed.

Edward checked the time on his phone, "Well, we have to get up early if we want to be the first one's in line tomorrow. We'd better get to our room."

I stood up, and put out both of my hands for Edward to take. He grabbed on, and I helped pull him to stand.

"You don't have to come with us in the morning," I told Alice and Emmett, "We just need you guys to be witnesses at the actual wedding. Sleep in if you can."

We left the siblings to get some sleep. As soon as the door snapped shut, Edward took my hand and practically sprinted down the hallway with me behind him to our room.

We stopped abruptly at the door to our room. Edward pulled out his key card, and shoved it into the slot on the door handle. The green light flashed, and we were inside in just a few seconds. Before the door closed behind us, Edward had his mouth on mine, and was backing me up into the room toward the bed.

I wrapped my arms around his neck when we let ourselves fall down onto the soft comforter that covered the bed.

We hadn't had any alone time since we saw each other last. We had kissed at the airport, as well as on the plane, but it didn't have the same depth or intensity as when we were by ourselves.

My hands fisted in his hair, while his were shoved up the back of my shirt sliding up and down my back. I heard two distinctive 'clunks' when Edward had kicked off his shoes. Mine followed right after as we rolled so that I was now on top of him. I felt his fingers lifting the hem of my shirt, and I sat up quickly to help remove the unwanted garment.

As I straddled his jean clad legs, wearing just my bra on my top half, the urgency that was there just seconds ago, calmed. I looked into his eyes, deep into his beautiful green eyes, and what I saw was amazing. I saw our future. I saw our past. I saw that the love that I had for him was returned ten-fold.

I leaned forward so that my chest was pressed against his t-shirt covered one. I brushed his thick bronze hair away from his face with both of my hands, cupping his face. He still hadn't cut his hair. It was only slightly longer that when I saw him last, and just as messy. I smoothed my fingers from his temples to his cheekbones. He closed his eyes then, just feeling my hands explore his face in detail. I brushed my thumb over his perfect lips and over his chin.

I kissed both of his closed eyelids, his perfect but slightly crooked nose, his chin, and finally his parted lips.

Edward had remained still throughout the journey my hands and lips took across his face. His hands had sat unmoving on my thighs. "Bella?" he whispered against my lips.

"Hmm?" was my incoherent reply as I kissed down his jaw line.

He removed his hands, that had since travelled to my hips, from my body and sat us both up. My eyes popped open in surprise. "Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"No, no, I just…I was going to wait, but I can't…I mean, I shouldn't," he stammered.

I slid off of him as he made to leave the bed. He went to his backpack and unzipped the pocket on the front. He dug around for a few seconds before returning to me on the bed.

He sat Indian style in front of me. I mirrored his position on the bed. He leaned forward, and pulled me closer so that my knees overlapped his. He took both of my hands in his. He looked nervous.

"Since we found each other again, and this elaborate plan was put in place, I feel that we have left something out," Edward said looking at our clasped hands, "I think that we have skipped an important step, something that has to take place now, just so that I know that you're sure…," he paused, and looked up to my face, "…about me."

I didn't know what he was talking about. Of course I was sure about him. Was he not sure about me? He looked so nervous, and almost sad. Did he not want this?

"Edward, I...," I started, but he shushed me with a small 'shh' from his lips, and the touch of his fingertips to my lips.

He put his hand back in mine and continued, "Bella, I love you more than anything in the entire world, and I can't believe that I messed this up so badly."

Edward smiled his crooked grin. He was playing with me…I think.

"Bella," he rolled his eyes, "I'm an idiot because I never _asked_ you if you wanted to marry me." He reached behind him, and held out a small velvet box in his hand. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh God, Edward, you were scaring the crap out of me!" I said shoving his shoulder with my hand. I looked back at his face that was still frozen with that lop-sided smile on it. He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh!" I almost shouted, "Yes. Yes! I'll marry you."

Edward opened the box, and in it sat the most beautiful, classic ring. It was a diamond solitaire with six smaller diamonds on the band, three on each side of the main stone.

I sat there motionless as Edward removed the ring from the box. He reached for my left hand, but I stopped him with both of mine.

"Edward, this ring is…unbelievable. You really shouldn't have spent so much…I love it, but…it's too much."

"Bella, I didn't buy it. It was my grandmother's ring," he explained, removing my hands that were clasped over his, "she left it to me in her will when she passed away. She told me when I was ten, that I was to give it to the woman I loved."

He smiled at me then, and slid the ring on my finger. "It looks beautiful on you. Grandma Masen would be very happy."

I knew that his grandmother had left him a substantial amount of money in a trust fund when she passed. I didn't know that her wedding ring was involved. She had been very special to him, and it seemed that he had been very special to her.

Once the ring was in place, I launched myself into his arms. He chuckled as he fell back onto the pillows, "What will we tell our friends and family when we tell the story of our engagement?" he asked, "Do we tell everyone that you were shirtless on a bed in a hotel room, just days before the wedding?"

I pinched his side because he wouldn't stop laughing.

Edward rolled us over, grabbed my hands and held them over my head on the bed. He was on all fours hovering over me. His knees were on either side of my hips, while his hands were holding my wrists down. His face was playful, and his hair was hanging down hiding his eyes a little bit.

He freed my wrists as he sat back still on his knees. He reached back over his head, and pulled his shirt off.

I knew where we were headed, if we kept this up. When we were in Boston, I was relieved that we didn't get too far in our make-out sessions. I was a little nervous. Sure, we had been together intimately before, but that was a year and a half ago.

Edward leaned back over me, and started kissing my neck. I let my hands roam over his bare back. "Edward…," I panted, "I think that we should wait."

He pulled his face back from mine. "What? Wait for what?" he asked looking somewhat confused.

"We should wait, you know," I said motioning between our bodies, "until after we get married."

He didn't say anything for a minute. I think that he was waiting for me to smile or say 'just kidding'. When he didn't see what he was looking for, he rolled off of me and lay on his back next to me.

Edward turned his face to me, "If that's what you want, but I think that we've already passed up a _white wedding_," he chuckled.

I pinched his side again. "Ow! We're not even married yet and you are abusing me!" he laughed, looking at his injured side, "that's gonna bruise."

"Poor baby," I cooed, and then kissed the small patch of skin on his side that was reddening.

We changed out of our clothes and into pajamas. Edward set the alarm clock for 7am, he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to be at City Hall first thing in the morning.

Edward and I climbed under the covers of our hotel bed. I laid my cheek against his bare chest, as he slid his fingers through my hair.

We both lay there quietly. I didn't think that either of us was going to get any sleep. I wondered if we would get _any_ sleep at all before heading back to Forks on Thursday.

The next morning Edward and I headed down to the offices of City Hall. It didn't take too long to file the paperwork. With us both being underage, we had to make an appointment beforehand so that all of our documentation was in order. Once that was finished, we headed back to the hotel to have breakfast with Alice and Emmett.

The four of us spent the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday exploring the city. We visited all of the monuments, and took almost a million pictures. Alice made sure to keep one memory stick for her camera empty so that we could take pictures at the wedding.

When the alarm went off on Wednesday morning, I felt like I was going to throw-up. My nerves were frazzled. I was terrified that somehow someway, something was going to go wrong. The three nights of restless sleep didn't do anything to alleviate my nerves. Edward, on the other hand, was calm, cool, and collected. I don't know how he did it. If he was nervous, I couldn't tell.

Alice whooshed me away into her room to get me ready. She pulled and tortured my hair into submission. The final product was…beautiful. I couldn't believe how smooth she made my hair. Half of it was pinned up, while the other half was carefully curled into smooth ringlets.

I dressed in my 'wedding dress'. It was an empire waist type dress. Alice had picked it out especially for the type of waistline. She wanted to make sure that there was no mistake that I was pregnant, or could be pregnant. She thought that if it was too fitted in the waist, someone could challenge the pregnancy.

Edward was dressed in black dress pants, with a white button down shirt, and a jacket over the top. He didn't wear a tie. On his feet were his dirty lace up boots that were just so Edward, I couldn't complain.

When it was our turn to see the Justice of the Peace, my nerves had calmed down. We were here, and we were just minutes from getting what we wanted, and needed to stay together.

We showed our IDs again, and I had to show them the doctor's note proving my pregnancy again.

We were ushered into a small room that had a couple of benches for any guests that we might've had.

Alice and Emmett stood by our sides as our witnesses.

Edward held my hands in front of us while we faced each other during the short service.

When it came time to exchange the rings, my heart about jumped out of my chest. We didn't have any rings; we only had the ring that Edward had given me on Sunday night. A small smile spread across Edward's face when he saw my panicked face.

Alice tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around to face her, she held out a plain wedding band to me. Turning back to Edward, I noticed that Emmett had handed Edward a similar band. Relief washed over me, and the ceremony continued.

When it was all said and done, I jumped into Edward's arms for the 'you may kiss the bride' kiss.

Our first kiss as husband and wife lasted a bit too long for the Justice of the Peace. A cleared throat interrupted us, and we were scooted out of the room to make space for the next happy couple.

Alice took pictures of us standing in front of the building, in the lobby of the building, each of us by ourselves, with Emmett, with herself (Emmett taking the picture, of course), and we got a clerk to take a couple of pictures with all four of us in it.

Alice and Emmett left us to be by ourselves once we returned to the hotel.

Edward and I went to our room and ordered room service for lunch. When we finished, we both looked at each other, and I blushed. I jumped up off of my I chair and headed to the bathroom after stealthily removing a few items from my suitcase.

I brushed my teeth, and changed into the small bit of clothing that Alice had insisted on packing for my wedding night…um, afternoon, or whatever.

I stood in front of the mirror, and let my hair down from the clips that were holding it up.

My cheeks were flushed, hell, my whole body was flushed. I knew this because I had very little covering my overheated skin, and could see the pinkness spread across my chest.

Looking in the mirror, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was a married woman now, and I was going into that room to make love to my husband.

**AN2: Next: The wedding afternoon, and heading to Forks.**


	16. Honeymoon

**AN: Wow, that took for-ev-er. RL got in the way. I've been searching for a job for the last 6 months and have finally found one. I've been dealing with interviews and what not for the last month. Now I just have to move 2000 miles away from home.**

Bella went into the bathroom, and I cleaned up the dishes and stuff from lunch. I shoved the tray out the door for the hotel staff to pick up later.

The last few weeks had been very stressful, and I was relieved that everything had worked out as planned. Bella was now my wife, and I couldn't be happier. Now that we were married, I didn't see any problems with us staying together. Of course, we would have several upset parents to deal with, but what could they do to us now? We were free. Bella still had to finish high school, but that would only take about three months. Then we would head out to college together, and we wouldn't look back.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked off my shoes. I had already removed my jacket and button up shirt before lunch, which left me in a white v-neck t-shirt and black dress pants.

Tonight was our wedding night, and I briefly wondered how Bella felt about that. She seemed so nervous the night we first got here, when she asked if we could wait. I knew that the first time for a girl was painful, but I never got to talk to her about it. We had been separated from each other immediately after we had had sex, and I didn't bring it up when I saw her last January.

Was she afraid of it hurting again? Maybe it was horrible for her. I know that I wasn't the most experienced lover, and I'm still not. But, I did know that the whole experience probably did nothing for her, at least it didn't seem like it anyway. I was such an idiot that night. I should have thought about her more than I did. I guess I was overwhelmed to even be having the experience to begin with. I must have had my eye on the prize, so to speak, and didn't make sure that she was enjoying it as much as I was. It wasn't like I was rough with her or anything, but I was just not…I don't know, romantic, or thoughtful enough to ensure that her first sexual experience was climatic, for lack of a better word. Basically, I just didn't know what I was doing.

From what I have read out of medical books, I could label the entire female anatomy. I knew how things worked, theoretically. Practically, I had no idea as to what I was doing. I'm sure that Bella would not appreciate a school book lecture on how a male and a female reproduce, nor would she like to be labeled with sticky notes showing all of her female parts. I could do that flawlessly, but pleasuring a woman, not so much.

I ran my hands through my hair a couple of times before I realized that Bella had not come out of the bathroom. I went to the door to check on her.

"Bella, you okay?" I asked through the door.

"Uh…yeah, fine. I'll be out in a sec."

I went back and sat on the edge of the bed.

A few minutes later the bathroom door creaked open. I turned my head towards the door, but she didn't come out. Huh.

I was about to stand and go over to the bathroom door, but before I could, she walked out.

Bella stood on the edge of the room with her eyes cast down and her bare feet slightly turned in. I should have said something, but I was too shocked to speak.

She was wearing this blue lingerie thing that just skimmed the top of her thighs. It definitely accentuated her breasts by pressing them up and together. The rest of it was like a blue mist, it was sheer, but not quite enough to see through completely. I think that my mouth had fallen open at the sight of her.

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I did not expect her to come out of that bathroom wearing something so…sexy. Don't get me wrong, Bella is sexy, but she definitely did not wear things like this. She was a jeans and t-shirt, and cotton panties kind of girl, not a silky lingerie wearer. I don't think that I've ever seen a piece of lace on her body until today.

I could tell that she was embarrassed, because her face, neck and chest were bright pink. She was still looking down at the floor, and her hair was spilling over her shoulders.

"Bella, I…you," I stuttered out. She looked up at the sound of my voice. She gave me a small smile, and walked over to where I was now standing. I didn't realize that I had even stood up.

"You look beautiful," I breathed out finally. I think that if I said it any louder my voice would have been an octave higher.

Standing in front of me, Bella reached up and cupped my face in her hands. "I love you Edward, so much," she said, before slipping one hand behind my neck and pulling my face to hers.

My heart was pounding in my chest as our lips met. My body was responding, but my brain was still clouded. I slid my hand to the small of her back, and pressed her closer into me, my other hand helping by gripping her hip. She let out a little moan as I brought her closer. I was sure that she could now feel how aroused I was through the fabric of my pants.

This was it, a chance to redeem myself. I was going to do things right this time, and I started by sliding my hand from her hip to under the misty fabric that hovered over her skin. My fingertips skimmed the skin of her stomach, and gently brushed the underside of her breast. Our lips parted, and I immediately started to kiss along her neck. Bella's hands had both slid up and into my hair, and held my head to her.

Bella let out a sharp breath of air when my fingers and palm finally reached their desired destination around her breast. I needed to remove the thin material that covered her. I wanted to see her again. Bringing both hands to the bottom of her negligee, I slowly lifted it off and over her head. Her breasts both bounced slightly when the fabric that was cupping her breasts was removed. I nearly lost it right there at the sight. I swear to God that if she was to touch me in the right place right now I would explode.

I tried to turn her so that her back was to the bed, and get her to lie down, but she had other plans. "Wait a minute," she whispered into my chin. She had been kissing along my jaw while I had been investigating the buoyancy of her breasts. "I want to feel you too."

I lifted my arms so that she could remove my shirt. She threw it to the side, and then placed her hands on my shoulders. Light as a feather, Bella slid her hands down and over my chest, when she got to my navel, she used one finger to trace the trail of hair that led into my pants. I had to take a deep breath to calm myself as she unbuttoned my pants, slid them over my hips, and let them fall to the floor around my ankles.

"Now we're even," Bella smiled up at me, and crawled onto the bed. She lay on her back with her head resting on the pillows. She then crooked her finger at me, calling me to her.

Not being able to resist her, I crawled up to her and using my elbows to prop me up, I hovered over her.

I started by kissing along her jaw and down her neck. She giggled when I ran my tongue across her collarbone, and she fisted her hands in my hair. I'm not sure what it was about Bella needing to touch and grab at my hair, but I liked it, and only hoped that she would keep it up.

I brought my hand up her side and cupped her breast in my palm. I kissed down her chest until my lips pressed against the softness of her breast. Not being able to help myself, I darted out my tongue, and flicked her nipple. I smiled when she suddenly arched her back just enough to press her nipple into my mouth.

I spent several minutes just lavishing attention to her breasts with my hands and mouth, before I dared to venture lower.

I brought my mouth back to hers as I slid my hand down across her stomach and dipped the tips of my fingers into her small panties. Bella didn't stop my movements, so I continued until my entire hand was inside her panties, and two of my fingers were slick with her moisture. Her hips rocked forward and she simultaneously gasped into my mouth as my fingers found her most sensitive area.

I kept up my actions causing her to whimper at my touch. I had to be doing something right for her to react this way, but just as I was bragging to myself in my head, she did something that I did not expect.

It didn't hurt my feelings, nor did I feel disappointed. I think the reaction to what she did only turned me on more.

While I was patting myself on the back and thinking that maybe I was better at this sex stuff than I thought, I felt Bella's hand cover mine inside her panties. She started _guiding_ my fingers. She was showing me how to get her off. She spread her legs farther apart as she rocked harder into our hands, and encouraged me to slip my fingers inside of her.

I had been looking down at my hand that was deep inside her underwear and her, but I chanced a look at her beautiful face.

Bella's eyes were closed, and her lips were parted. Her head was tilted slightly away from my face, exposing her pale neck to me. Her breathing was getting heavier as she reached her climax.

She moaned out my name as she came. Her muscles clamped around my fingers over and over. I had never felt anything like it before. I kissed her neck, her chin, and her lips before she calmed enough to open her eyes to me. She smiled brightly at me, but then blushed when I returned the smile.

"I never, I mean, no one has ever…touched me like that before," she said, holding my hand to her chest.

"I've never touched anyone like that before. I should have," I paused trying to think of the right thing to say. "I should have that night. The night of your birthday, I should have treated you…better."

"Oh, god, Edward, is that what you think?" I nodded. "Don't think that. No, that was one of the best and worst nights of my life. The best part was when I was with you."

"I just didn't think that there was anyway that you could have enjoyed it."

"Of course, there was pain, but I still enjoyed it. Not so much physically as emotionally, but I still enjoyed it. It was you and me, loving each other."

I had never thought of it that way before. It made me feel so much better to hear it. I pulled her to my chest. "I love you Bella Masen," I told her as I kissed her forehead.

"I love you too, husband," she laughed. "Now, we're not done are we?"

I shook my head. "No, far from it."

She grinned at me as she hooked her fingers around her panties and slid them down her legs, and threw them to the floor. I just laid there in awe of this beautiful girl.

She sat up suddenly, and when I looked at her face, I saw that she had sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. As far as I knew, she only did this when she was nervous or thinking hard on something. Before I could process anything, she had my shorts halfway over my hips. I helped her out by lifting my hips off of the bed, and removing my underwear the rest of the way for her.

Now, I've never been one to be shy or modest about my body. But when you're standing at attention, and saluting your girl with a massive hard-on, one might be slightly embarrassed. Especially since this is only the second time she has seen me in this state.

Before I could say anything, Bella reached out and grabbed me. I couldn't hold back the groan that escaped my lips. I swear that if she moves at all, I will lose it. And then she moved.

"Aah, Bella. I can't…I won't…" I tried to explain, but the sensation of her hand wrapped around me was overpowering.

"Am I doing it right?" she asked while stroking me up and down. "It's OK if you don't last long. I read somewhere that if I do this now, you'll last longer the second time."

She was right. I would last longer the second time around. I was surprised that I didn't blow my load the moment she walked out of the bathroom wearing that sexy lingerie. Just thinking about it and seeing Bella's naked body leaning over me while her hand was wrapped firmly around me caused me to come after only being jerked off for like a minute.

She smiled triumphantly when I was finished, and flopped down on the bed beside me. I grabbed my discarded underwear and wiped up the mess that I had made. When I was done cleaning myself up, Bella rolled onto my chest and wrapped her arm around my waist. I put my arms around her as well as we rested.

Embarrassing as it might have been to come so quickly the first time, I was proudly fully aroused again after only a few minutes. I guess being a seventeen year old boy was good for something.

I rolled us so that I was hovering over the top of her again. We kissed for a few minutes, our tongues exploring each other's mouths, before I settled myself between her legs.

Bella rubbed her hands up and down my back encouraging me to proceed. I slowly and gently as I could, pushed inside of her. She seemed to tense slightly at first, but relaxed a bit before I began to move.

We moved together slowly at the start, but we both became more frantic as we both neared our release.

Bella had her arms hooked under mine, her hands flat on my shoulder blades. Every now and again, I could feel her fingertips press firmly into my skin. I had my head dropped down against her shoulder. I was concentrating on lasting long enough for her to find her release. I wanted tonight to be about her and nothing else.

She started squirming beneath me and moaning out my name. I knew she was close. I slipped my hand between us and went to rub her clit. After just a few seconds, her muscles clenched around me, her knees came up from where they had been spread open, and squeezed into my sides. The sensation of her whole body clamping around me caused me to let go.

Her body went limp as I collapsed on top of her. I slid off of her and lay slightly to her side leaving my face buried in her neck and my arms wrapped around her. Bella put one arm around my shoulders, while her free hand stroked my hair.

Sex with my wife was amazing. I smiled into her neck as we both fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow we were heading back to Seattle, and then to Forks. I was terrified as to what her real father would think of this whole situation. For all he knows, he thinks that I had already gotten her pregnant. I'd be lucky if I survived my first day in Forks.

**As always, thanks so much for the reviews. Hopefully it won't take as long to update the next chapter.**


	17. Back to Forks

**A/N: I made it to my new home 2200 miles away from my old home. Whew! That was a long drive. Anyway, I don't have internet access yet, so I had to go to Starbucks to upload this chapter**.

**As always, thanks for the reviews.**

I awoke the next morning with Edward's arms wrapped protectively around me. My back was flush with his bare chest, and all of the events from the day before ran quickly through my head. Edward and I were married, and it went off flawlessly. I couldn't believe that everything happened so smoothly. I was sure that something would go wrong. I just knew that my mom, along with Edward's dad, would come storming into City Hall and stop the wedding. But, none of that happened.

Last night was…so…I can't even describe it. Edward was so gentle and caring. I had been so nervous while I was changing in the bathroom, that I could hardly find the courage to step out into the room. As soon as we started kissing, I completely surrendered myself to the sensations of Edward's lips and hands on me. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding night. Everything was perfect.

The next thing on the agenda was to get to Forks and tell Charlie the happy news. Honestly, I didn't know how he would take it. Oddly enough, he hadn't completely lost it when he found out that I was 'expecting', but now I was bringing home the boy responsible. I crossed my fingers hoping that he didn't shoot Edward on sight.

From behind me, Edward mumbled something unrecognizable as words, and then sighed into my hair. I turned in his arms to face him. His hair was practically standing on end in the back, and in the front it was hanging loosely in his face. I liked the longer hair, but at the same time, I liked his old style too. Maybe I could talk him into getting a trim before we left the hotel. I was guessing that Charlie would be more comfortable with a more 'clean cut' look on my new husband.

I brushed the hair out of his face so that I could check him out properly. I could look at him all day long and never tire of him. To me, he was the most handsome boy around. To others, it was probably the same. I remembered back to when we both lived in California, and all of the girls that would ogle him from afar when we were out. He never paid any attention to his admirers. He would always say, "Silly Bella, you know I only have eyes for you." He was such a goofball sometimes.

I ran my thumb over his pouty bottom lip, and his lips turned up into a crooked grin. Seconds later his eyes fluttered open. "Morning, love," he said with the same grin on his face. Edward's arms tightened, and pulled me closer to his warm body.

I scooted closer, and pressed my lips to his. After a minute of kissing, I returned his verbal greeting, "Morning."

I tucked my head under his chin. "I don't want to get up and return to the real world," I whined. "I just want to lie here with you for the rest of my life. I'm so done with all of the drama. I don't know if I can take anymore."

"I know what you mean. Hopefully once I meet your dad, and he accepts me as your husband, we can be drama free for a while."

"But until then?" I asked.

"Until then, we have to figure out what to do about Waldo here," he said, rubbing my belly.

"Waldo? You would seriously name our child Waldo?" I said, lifting my head so that I could see his face.

"Yeah, like, when the ultrasound technician does their exam and can't find our little bundle of joy. They'll exclaim, 'Where's Waldo!'"

Edward started laughing a very non-manly giggly laugh at his stupid joke, and I finally saw the lighthearted kid I originally fell in love with. It was nice to see him relax and let go. He had been so serious since I had found him again.

It made me giggle too.

Sitting up on my elbow, I noticed the digital clock on the nightstand. We needed to get up and get ready to head to the airport. I sighed loudly, and Edward sobered up after he noticed the look on my face. "We have to get ready to leave."

He turned his head to check out the clock and growled. He rubbed his hands over his face before sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

My naked husband stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He turned his head back to me lying on the bed and winked before he sauntered off into the bathroom.

I never heard the bathroom door close, but I did hear the shower water turn on loudly. I sat up in bed, holding the sheet tightly to my chest. Was that an invitation?

After showering and packing up our things, Edward and I headed down to the lobby of the hotel. We were supposed to meet Emmett and Alice, and then head to the airport.

From the moment we glimpsed Emmett, he was giving the two of us goofy looks. He was wiggling his eyebrows and me and winking, while punching Edward in the arm, and trying to fist bump him. What was it with boys, anyway? I just rolled my eyes and walked with Alice to catch the shuttle to the airport.

The flight was long. Luckily the plane wasn't full, so I was able to lie down across two seats and rest my head on Edward's lap and take a nap. I slept nearly the whole way.

Once back in Seattle, we found our cars in the long term lot, separated our things from Alice and Emmett's, and loaded them into Edward's Volvo.

Edward had never been to Forks, and we had to follow behind Emmett nearly the whole distance.

"So what are we going to do about the whole baby thing?" I asked once we were half way home. "I don't think that we should wait too long. I don't want to have to wear some weird contraption under my shirt to make me look like I have a belly."

"I'm not sure. We really didn't plan this out too well did we?" Edward's brow was furrowed in concentration. "We'll have to go out of town or something, and then come home all devastated that something happened to make you lose the baby while we were gone."

"I could fall down the stairs. They do that in movies all the time. It would totally be believable for me to have some kind of accident like that." I suggested, thinking about the time just recently that I fell down the stairs carrying a basket of laundry.

"No, you could really get hurt trying to pull off a stunt like that. We'll think of something else." Edward took my hand in his over the console between the seats of the car. He kept rubbing his thumb over my wedding rings. When I looked over at him, he had a small smile playing on his lips.

We drove along in silence for about a half an hour before we passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign on the highway.

I steered Edward towards my house, and mentally crossed my fingers that Charlie was in a good mood when we got there.

We pulled up in front of the little white house.

Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway.

We stood in front of the Volvo for a few moments gathering our thoughts. This could go okay or it could go very badly. I took Edward's hand in mine. "Just let me do the talking, okay? Ready?" He nodded and we walked slowly up the steps to the front door.

The door was unlocked, and we walked right in. The old hard wood floors creaked as we walked into the living room.

Charlie was standing in the middle of the room with his back to us, the phone to his ear. "Hey, Dad," I said quietly from the edge of the room.

Charlie whipped his body around to face us. "Oh my God, Bella, where have you been?" Charlie shouted with a hint of relief in his voice. "I've been worried sick. I only just found out that the Cullen kids just made it home too." Awkwardly Charlie gave me a small hug before his eyes turned to Edward.

"So, Dad…uh…I have some news," I stuttered. I figured it would be best to just get it over with now. Charlie's eyes left Edward for the moment and turned to mine. "So, I told Edward here about the baby, and we decided that we should, you know, get married. So, we did, and yeah…we're married." I held up my left hand to show my rings. "So, Dad, this is Edward, my husband."

Edward held out his hand for Charlie to shake. Charlie's eyes shifted to Edward with a menacing glare. He did not accept Edward's hand. After a few moments, Edward dropped his hand and slid it into his pocket.

Never taking his eyes off of Edward, Charlie started in on his lecture. "Isabella Marie Swan, are you…"

"Masen," I interrupted.

"What!?!"

"Masen, Dad. Isabella Marie _Masen_ is my name now."

Charlie closed his eyes, his face becoming redder by the minute. He opened his eyes, and looked at Edward. "Wait in the kitchen. I need to talk to my daughter alone."

Edward looked at me and I nodded pointing to the kitchen. Reluctantly, Edward made his way into the kitchen and was out of sight.

I turned back to Charlie. "Dad, I know that you are upset, but you have to understand. Edward and I are in love. I know that we are too young to be married and have a baby on the way." I hated lying to Charlie about the baby, but what could I do now? I had to continue with the charade. "But, it just happened, and now we are taking all of the responsibility for our actions. I know that we didn't have to get married, but it was the only way."

"Bella, there have always been other options. I'm trying to understand, really I am, but I don't see how this marriage has improved your situation," Charlie said looking quite exhausted. "Your mother and I got married young, and look how that turned out. We didn't even make it until your first birthday."

"I know, but Edward and I are different. We didn't mean for things to happen the way they did. We should both be regular high school students in California. We should have never been separated in the first place."

"Your mother had her reasons, and it seems that they were justified."

"Excuse me? Justified? Are you kidding me?" I screeched. I wanted to tell him the truth about the baby now. It just made us look irresponsible, when that was the farthest thing from the truth. "Mom freaked out for no good reason. Edward's parents were just the same. They didn't understand. You don't understand!"

"Bella, please," Charlie said trying to calm himself. "I know that your separation hurt you. I've lived with you for the past year and a half, and I could see the depression that it caused. I just want what's best for you, that's all."

"Edward is what's best for me. Give him a chance, you'll see. I promise."

"It's seems what's done is done. You're married to him now, but if you think for one minute that he's staying with you in your room under my roof, you have another thing coming."

"But, Dad…"

"No."

"Fine, we'll just move into that motel along the highway that has a kitchenette in it. No big deal. We're only staying here in Forks because Edward insists that I finish high school. It's only for a few months anyway." I walked into the kitchen where Edward was pacing in front of the sink. He turned to me with a worried look on his face.

"My dad won't let us stay here."

"He won't let me stay here."

"Whatever, I'm going to pack up some things and we can go."

"No, Bella. You are going to stay here. I'll stay with Emmett like we planned. I don't want to upset your father more that we already have. I don't want you to lose your dad over this. You've already lost your mother over me, and I won't let you ruin your relationship with Charlie too."

I just stared at him.

"Look at it this way. We can ease your father into our relationship. He'll learn to like me in time. I wouldn't be able to stand it if Charlie shipped you away from me too. I couldn't live like that again."

I could see the worry in his eyes. He really thought that he could lose me again. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Ok," I said into his chest. "It's only for a few months, right?"

Edward put his arms around me and sighed, relieved. "I'd better get going before it gets too late." I nodded.

We brought my things into the house, and I gave directions to Edward on how to get over to Emmett's house. I kissed him goodbye, and he promised to call me before he went to sleep.

I went back into the house. Charlie was still in the living room, but now he was sitting in his recliner.

"Bells?" he called when I tried to make it up the stairs without any more confrontations.

"Yeah, dad?"

"I just want you to know that I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

"Oh, and Bells?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Just…don't leave without telling me again. I…worry. Just know that you can talk to me. I'll help you out as much as I can. Please come to me before you make anymore big decisions."

"Ok dad, I will."

"And Bells?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Your mother will be here on Saturday."


	18. First Day Home

I took my foot off of the first step of the staircase, and wheeled around and headed back into the living room.

"You told her?" I said, trying to hold back the anger that swelled in me at the thought of seeing my mother. "She's probably just freaking out."

"What was I supposed to do, Bells? I didn't know where you were. I thought that maybe you headed to Florida to be with Renee. I thought that with the pregnancy you'd need your mother." Charlie sunk back into the recliner with his hands rubbing over his face.

I guess in any normal circumstance, a girl might want her mother's advice and comfort in a situation like this, if it was a real situation, anyway. I, however, had no intention of ever seeing my mother for the rest of my life. Or, maybe I'd want her to see me happy with Edward living our lives just so I could tell her 'I told you so'. I don't know. All I do know is that she is going to somehow ruin my life further with her presence here in Forks.

I let out an exasperated groan and headed up the stairs to my room throwing the door open and then slamming it shut behind me. I may be a married woman, but I can still throw a temper tantrum if I need to.

I tried desperately to sleep after the phone call that Edward had promised me tonight. Even though Edward and I had only slept in the same bed for a couple of nights, I felt that my bed was now empty without him. I was happy that he was going to come over in the morning after Charlie went to the station.

I could tell that Charlie was very upset with me for leaving without letting him know, again. Luckily for me, he wasn't very confrontational with me. He ran the town of Forks. He was the police chief, which meant that he had to be forceful and sure of himself. That or people would walk all over him. The criminals of Forks had better be on their best behavior for the next few weeks. I was sure that any little problem could evoke the pent up anger he had towards me. You couldn't pay me enough to be one of his subordinates at work right now.

--

I opened my eyes the next morning to the bright sun pouring in from my open curtains. From the looks of it, it was going to be a nice day outside, a good day to show Edward around.

I showered quickly before getting dressed. I put on one of my loose tops that could hide any sign of a baby bump, or lack of one. I didn't eat. I figured that the first stop on the tour of Forks would be the diner for breakfast.

Sliding on my jacket, I stepped outside onto the steps that were at the front door. I sat on the bottom step and waited for Edward to show up.

Just a few minutes later, the silver Volvo pulled up the drive. With a big smile on my face, I hopped up and sprinted over to the passenger side door and climbed in.

"I would have gotten the door for you," Edward chuckled, before leaning in to me for a kiss. He pulled away from me ending the kiss, and started to put the car in to reverse.

"Wait a sec, I wasn't finished." He looked at me, and I practically crawled on top of him in the driver's seat. The gear shift was uncomfortably poking me in my leg, but I was determined to get a proper newlywed kiss out of him. His hands gripped my waist, and helped me up and over the emergency brake and onto his lap.

Once settled with my knees on either side of his thighs, I brought my hands to cup both sides of his face before tilting my head and bringing my parted lips to his.

Aaahh. I had been waiting for this all night. The closeness, the kisses, Edward. I relaxed into the kiss, sliding my hands into his hair. Edward had his hands under my jacket and was sliding his fingers along the waistband of my jeans where a small amount of skin was exposed.

I had a flashback to when we would do this sort of thing in California. We hardly ever went to each other's houses for fear of our parents. Hello, and goodbye make-out sessions usually took place in Edward's car in the parking lot of my apartment building.

We kissed heavily for a few more moments before I pulled back and rested my forehead against his. "We should get going before my neighbors call Charlie."

"Let them call Charlie. You see these?" He held up my left hand and ran his thumb over my rings. "These rings here mean that I can kiss you whenever and wherever I want."

I rolled my eyes at him as I clumsily crawled back over to my seat. "Edward, just drive."

Edward put the car in reverse, and pulled out of the driveway, and then we sped off in the direction that I pointed to.

In like, four minutes we were parking in front of the diner. It usually took Charlie around ten minutes to get from our house to the restaurant. I figured that I'd better get Edward to follow all of the speed limits in town if he wanted Charlie to like him any time soon.

It was Friday morning and the place was packed. Kids and parents alike were taking advantage of the rest of Spring Break by having meals out.

We waited for about fifteen minutes before we were seated at a booth. We could have sat at the counter in less time, but I wanted a little more privacy than that counter could offer. Since everyone knew everyone in this town, I was sure that the waitress would bombard me with questions and small talk if I was readily available at the counter, especially since Edward was a new face in town.

We both ordered the French toast, and I smiled because that just proved that we were meant to be.

We were having such a good time this morning that I didn't want to bring up the alarming news that Charlie dropped on me last night, but I had to tell him.

"So Charlie told me something rather disturbing last night," I casually said, hoping that he didn't freak out when I dropped the bomb. Normally Edward was a pretty calm individual, but after his minor meltdown last night, and conceding with my father's wishes to not let us stay in the house together, I thought that I'd better lay this one on him gently. Before last night, I didn't know that he was still freaked out about us being separated again. I mean, we were married now. That means that we can't be separated again, right?

"Hmm?" Edward said tearing his eyes away from his plate. He had just poured syrup all over his toast, and was getting ready to cut into it with his fork.

"Charlie, he said something last night." Edward raised his eyebrows at me telling me to get on with it.

"So, he told me that Renee is going to be here tomorrow, in town." I waited for him to say something. Instead he just sat there looking at me with worry on his face. "I guess my dad called her looking for me while we were gone. He thought that I might've gone to Florida."

"Why would he think that?" Edward said, as he set his fork back on the table.

"He thought that I would want my mother in a time like this," I explained, waving my hand in front of my stomach.

He looked down at the table with his eyebrows furrowed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes shaking his head.

"It'll be OK," I said, trying to relax him. "She will just piss off my dad and he won't allow her to stay with us. Then, she'll see that we are married and give up and go home."

"I don't think that it will be that easy." I thought I heard him say under his breath, but before I could question him, a gang of kids bounded though the front door of the diner.

Why on earth did I not think that I would run into any one that I knew today?

Before I could even think of slouching down low in the booth, a familiar voice echoed through the room.

"Oh Bella, we all thought that you had run away!" Lauren Mallory excitedly yelled through the restaurant. "Your dad was calling all around looking for you this week." I hated the fake sympathy she had in her voice. I knew for certain that she was the one that had leaked the news of my 'pregnancy' to the entire school since her mother was the nurse at the hospital that day. She and Jessica Stanley spread the news like wild fire. The whole school knew all about my business before the first bell even rang.

"Nope, didn't run away, sorry." I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess not. So who's this?" she said, looking at Edward as she tried to seductively flip her hair over her shoulder. "Is he your brother or something?"

I took a deep breath in and let it out. Pregnancy can really cause you to lose control over your temper, at least that was what I was going to say when they had to pull me off of her if she even tried to touch Edward.

She slid in the booth next to Edward, but before I could jump across the table, Edward started talking.

"Actually, I'm Bella's husband Edward. Nice to meet you…" he trailed off.

Lauren stared at Edward. Not like the usual fan girl stare, but as if she was going to lose her mind at the concept of Edward and I being married.

"Uh, oh…um…I guess Mike is going to be disappointed then isn't he?" she stuttered as she stood up from our table. "See you later," she finished as she walked away slowly, keeping her eye on us. She tripped on a chair before she focused on walking back to her friends that were now sitting at a table in the middle of the room.

"That was interesting," I said to Edward, though I was still watching Lauren as she sat down at her table.

"Umhm," Edward hummed. When I looked back at him, he was leaning on the table with his arms crossed on the laminate. "Is there something you'd like to tell me Isabella?"

"I'm sorry, what?" He was being weird all of a sudden. "That was Lauren. Her mom is a nurse at the hospital. That's how she knew about the baby and stuff."

"That's not what I meant." Edward put one hand up and rested his chin on it.

"Then, what do you mean?"

"Well, I'm just curious about what she said about this Mike person." Edward blinked twice before his straight face faltered, and his signature crooked grin started making an appearance.

"Jealous?" I asked. "You know, he did want to take me to the prom?"

"And when did he ask you to the prom?"

"Just a couple of weeks ago, actually," I said with a smug grin.

"Does this Mike know of your _condition_?"

"Yep."

Edward's mouth fell open and he had this incredulous look on his face. "Doesn't he think that maybe, just maybe, you might have a boyfriend? Like a boyfriend that put you in this condition?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "He didn't seem to care."

And just like his ears had been ringing from us talking about him, Mike walked in the door with Jessica attached to his arm. When he noticed me, he scraped Jess's hands off of him and sauntered over.

"Hey, Bella," Mike said trying to be cool, and obviously not noticing Edward. "I haven't seen you at all this week. Where have you been?"

I smiled at Edward.

"Well, Mike, I went out of town for, you know, personal reasons." I had my hands on the table in front of me. I lifted my left hand and kind of waved it around to show off my wedding rings. He didn't notice. This guy was so oblivious.

"A bunch of us are going out to La Push to the beach this weekend. The last weekend before school starts up again. Do you want to come with us? You can ride with me."

As I pretended to think about it, Jessica came up to the table.

"Hi," she said to me, and then turned to Edward who was looking less and less amused with Mike by the minute, "I'm Jessica, by the way." She held out her hand to Edward.

"Edward," he said to her, but was still eyeing Mike's movements.

"Oh, wow. I didn't even notice you, man," Mike genuinely said to Edward. "I'm Mike, sorry about that."

"Not a problem," Edward responded coolly.

"So, Bella, you think you would like to go?" Mike continued, "It's going to be a lot of fun."

"I don't know Mike, could Edward come too?" I asked shyly.

"Um…sure, not a problem."

"That's good, thanks," I said to Mike. Turning to Edward, I said, "See Honey, people are really nice here."

Mike kind of blanched as he watched me take Edward's hand from across the table. I think reality just sunk into his little head.

Jessica took Mike's arm and started to pull him away. "See ya this weekend!" she said, and turned towards the full table kids in the middle of the room.

They walked away and sat at the table with Lauren and her friends. I heard a muffled 'No way' being said from that direction, and I noticed Mike slump down in his chair slightly.

We left the diner and toured the small town. I showed Edward the high school, the police station, and the hospital. We passed Newton's Outfitters, and Edward let out a small growl when I told him that Mike's family owned and operated the large store. It was cute seeing Edward a little jealous even though he had no reason to be.

We went back to my house and settled down on the couch.

"I forgot to ask you how it was staying with the Cullen's," I said handing him a Coke.

"They are really nice people. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen set me up in the guest room down the hall from Emmett's room. I was kind of glad that I didn't have to stay in his room with him. He was acting like a little girl at a slumber party last night," Edward laughed.

I leaned into him and he put his arm around me. "I wish you could have stayed here."

"Yeah, me too," he sighed.

We were both so comfortable on the couch that I think that we both fell asleep for about an hour. I jumped up when I heard a car door slam out front.

"That's Charlie," I told Edward, "Help me make him dinner."

Edward nodded and we shuffled into the kitchen just as Charlie came in the front door.

"Is that your car outside Edward?" Charlie asked after he hung up his gun belt and jacket.

"Yes, sir," Edward replied.

Charlie nodded. "Safe."

Score one for Edward.

Charlie took a beer into the living room and turned on the television while Edward and I figured out something to make for dinner.

We fried up some trout that Charlie must've caught last weekend along with some fried potatoes. We weren't going for healthy tonight. It was more like we were going for 'make Charlie happy tonight'.

The three of us sat around the kitchen table making small talk. I just wanted Charlie to get to know Edward.

"So dad, the big game is coming up soon isn't it?" I asked.

"Yep, in a couple of weeks, I don't think we'll be able to win this year either with Mark being out of commission with a sprained ankle," Charlie grumbled.

Charlie then told us of how Mark had hurt himself chasing Mrs. Cope's dog out of the indoor swimming pool a couple of days ago. "I don't even know how that dog got in there," Charlie laughed.

I explained to Edward that there was an annual town picnic held the Saturday after Easter, and the whole town participated in a baseball tournament. The Police team never seemed to beat out the team from the hospital that Carlisle Cullen was the captain of.

"If Carlisle didn't have that big kid of his playing I think that we could probably win, but with Mark out…I doubt we have a chance."

"You never know dad, maybe someone from his team will be out too." I shrugged. I didn't know what to say to make him feel better. "Why does Emmett get to play anyway, he doesn't work at the hospital?"

"He's family Bells," Charlie sighed. "You can have your family members play."

"You never asked me to play," I questioned him.

"Seriously, Bells? You play baseball?" Charlie started laughing a real laugh, while my mouth hung open in disbelief.

I looked to Edward for some support, but all I saw were his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"Go on," I pouted, "get it out of your system."

At that Edward burst out laughing. "Sorry Bella," he gasped between giggles.

I slouched down in my chair and crossed my arms in front of me.

"Come on Bella, don't be like that," Edward smiled. "You know you can't play baseball."

I pinched him on his side, and he yelped and jumped away screeching his chair on the linoleum. "Ow."

I reached my hand over towards him. "Don't touch me," he pouted. "You're mean."

I stood up and stepped closer to him. "Seriously, don't come any closer." So I did. Come closer that is.

Edward grabbed me around the waist and I ended up sitting on his lap while he tickled me until my eyes watered. Edward stilled his hands on my waist, and I put my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled at me, and then I suddenly realized that Charlie was still in the room. I turned around on Edward's lap just in time to see Charlie walk from the kitchen. A few seconds later I heard the TV turn on and the sound of the footrest on his recliner spring up.

We sat in the kitchen hugging each other for a few more minutes before we decided to clean up from dinner.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and my mother would be in town. It was also the day at the beach with the kids from school.

"So I was thinking," I told Edward, "I think that we should go to the beach tomorrow. I have no idea when Renee will be here, and I really don't think that we should just sit here and wait for her to show up."

"I think that you're right. Let's go to the beach tomorrow, and we'll see her when we see her."

I walked Edward out to his car about an hour later. I didn't want him to go, and I hugged him around his waist not wanting to let go.

"Bella, love, I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning. I'll get Alice and Emmett to join us. Maybe Jasper and Rosalie will be able to make it too."

"Ok," I sighed into his t-shirt.

He kissed me goodnight, but that made it even harder to let him go.

As I watched his taillights drive down my street, I thought about tomorrow.

With Renee coming to town, it was going to be a long day.


	19. Renee

**A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait. Thank you for sticking with me.**

When I got back to Emmett's I told him and Alice both about the trip to the beach that had been planned. Apparently, Alice knew all about it already from some other source, and had been waiting for me to get home to tell me. She ran off to call Bella before I could even tell her whether or not we wanted to go.

I slept restlessly all night. Tomorrow was going to be stressful in a couple of ways. First off, I was going to meet Bella's friends from school when we went to the beach, and secondly, Bella's mother was due in town at some point in the day. I really didn't know what to expect.

Morning came, and I was staring to get ready. I didn't have all of my clothes and things from my home in California with me. With my hasty retreat from that house, I left a lot of things behind. Luckily, I still had some old board shorts that I could wear today. The sun was already shining, and I had heard that it was going to be close to 70 today, an oddity in this area. Bella had laughed when we heard that on the radio. She said we must be having a heat wave.

"You think you're going swimming today, eh?" Emmett chuckled in my doorway. "It's going to be like, I don't know, 40 degrees in the water today, if we're lucky."

"Seriously?" I asked. What was the point of the beach if you couldn't get in the water?

"Yeah, but you could still get in. I will, but I'm used to it. Trust me when I tell you that it will be freezing. If you stay here in town, I suggest investing in a wet suit."

I put on the board shorts anyway along with a t-shirt and my black hooded sweatshirt. I grabbed a bag, and threw in a pair of sweats just in case I froze my butt off out there.

I told Emmett that I would be driving Bella and myself out to the beach. I wanted to make sure I had my car for later for when we finally went to Bella's house, and her mother was there. I wanted to have a get-away car just as a precaution. I knew that Bella was going to be upset today, and I was certainly not going to leave her at the house with her mother if it was too much.

I carefully drove over to Bella's. My driving had slowed down immensely due to the fact that if I was caught speeding, Charlie would never warm up to me. I was crossing my fingers that Charlie and I could make some sort of truce in this situation. I did not want Bella to lose her father over us. I was hoping that there was one rational parent in the lot.

I pulled up to the house, and was surprised to see that Charlie's cruiser was still in the driveway. I had expected him to be at work already, but I guess with this being Saturday, he may be off from work.

Before I could knock on the door, Bella came bursting out the front door to meet me.

"He wants to talk to you," she whispered. "I'm just trying to give you some warning."

"OK, sure, it's no big deal." I shrugged my shoulders conveying my nonchalance, but inside I was shaking like a leaf.

Once in the front door, I heard Charlie call my name. Bella went upstairs to finish getting ready. She knew that the conversation between her father and me was meant to be private.

"Hi, sir, how are you this morning?" I asked, as if it was any other day.

"Fine, Edward, thanks," he started. "Edward, I wanted to talk to you today about you and Bella."

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

He sighed before he started speaking. "Has Bella told you anything about what happened between her mother and me?"

"No, not really, just the basics, I guess." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Normally, I don't like to talk about private and personal things, but I think that this is a story that you need to hear. I worry about Bella. It's just that all of this," he said waving his hand between me and the stairs to where Bella was, "was just all so sudden. The running off to get married, the baby on the way, everything. I want my daughter to be happy, and I need her to make the right choices. I don't want this baby to arrive just in time for you to hightail it out of here. I need you need to hear this story from someone who has lived through the experience. I need to know if you are completely serious about this whole marriage, and totally committed to Bella and this baby."

I nodded. "Of course, I am."

He thought for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, I suppose.

"Well, Renee and I met in high school. We dated for two years. We found out that we were pregnant with Bella January of our senior year. We were shocked, of course, but I was happy about it. Renee, on the other hand, was not. We had both planned on going to college in the fall, but were unable to do so with a baby on the way. Renee was torn up about it. You see, she had always wanted out of Forks. She hated living in a small town, and with her being pregnant, she was going to have to hold off on her plans for a while."

Charlie shifted uncomfortably in his recliner. I had sat down on the sofa, but was perched on the side waiting to hear what he was going to tell me.

"We got married. We were both eighteen at the time," Charlie paused looking at me intently. "We didn't even make it to Bella's first birthday before we divorced."

Wow, I didn't know that. I thought that Bella's parents had been together longer than that. I needed to reassure him that the same thing wouldn't happen to us.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I promise you it won't be like that with Bella and me," I told him. Now I knew why he was against our marriage, but not against it at the same time. He was worried that what happened between him and his own wife, would happen to us. Unfortunately, he didn't know that Bella wasn't really pregnant. I'm sure he'd feel better if he knew the truth.

"I didn't think it would be like that either," he said with a frown. "You know that Bella wants to go to college, right?"

I nodded.

"Renee did too, and she did. She had missed the fall semester, but jumped on the chance to leave in the spring. Renee went to Phoenix for school, Arizona State, and she took Bella with her. That was the last time I saw Bella until she was six, and could be sent on a plane by herself as an unaccompanied minor. She could only fly on non-stop flights, so I would travel to Seattle and pick her up for two weeks every summer. Renee refused to travel back to Forks for any reason, and never allowed me to visit her in Arizona. It wasn't until last year that I finally got to spend some time with my daughter."

"Wow, I had no idea," I said, mostly to myself.

"Edward, can you see that you and Bella's situation is a lot like mine and Renee's?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I can see the similarities, but there are other circumstances in our situation. Charlie, I'm not trying to steal your daughter from you. I love Bella, and I'm happy to be able to be her husband. You're going to have to trust me."

He nodded. "I heard what you said to her that first night."

I furrowed my brow not knowing what he was talking about.

"When you told her that you didn't want to upset me, that you wanted her to be able to keep one parent."

"It's true. I don't want her to lose you over this. I know that Renee has let her go for her own reasons. I'm afraid that I lost my parents long before I even met Bella." It was true. My parents and I haven't gotten along in years, and Renee, she has the money from my father to be concerned about.

Charlie scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks for talking with me, Edward. I just want what's best for my little girl. I wanted to let you know where I'm coming from. I've lived through a teenage pregnancy, and marriage. I'm not saying that its right, but I know better than anyone that it can happen at any time."

"I'll take care of her. I know that you don't know me very well, but I'm hoping to change that."

"Well, Edward, I don't know how an unemployed kid is going to support a wife and a baby, but I'm happy to know that you are willing to try," Charlie chuckled.

"Yeah, about that, I guess you wouldn't know, would you?" I asked, as I ran my hand through my hair. Charlie looked confused. "I suppose we should have told you sooner, so that you didn't worry, but, when I turn eighteen, I will inherit quite a large sum of money."

Charlie still looked confused, so I elaborated.

"My grandmother left me everything when she past away. The ring Bella's wearing, a bank account that rivals my father's, and, if we wanted to live in Chicago, a big, old house."

"It seems that you will be able to support your family," Charlie said, leaning forward in his chair. "Thanks for listening to me. I just wanted to let you know what I was thinking. Since Bella's pregnant, and you two have gotten married, there's nothing that I can do about that now. I would like to be able to get to know you better."

I was actually shocked by this conversation. I could see all of the love he had for Bella in just this ten minute chat we were having. He was trying to reason with me, let me know why he had reacted the way he did. For the first time in my life, someone was treating me like an adult, and I respected him for that.

"So, does that mean I can move in here, with Bella?" I cautiously asked, hoping that I didn't piss him off.

He laughed loudly before he stood from his chair and headed for the front door. "Not over my dead body."

Yeah, I didn't think so.

Bella reemerged from the upstairs. She was tying her hair back with a hair elastic, and she was smiling. She was beautiful.

"Bells, I'm heading out to the station for a few hours before your mother gets here. She said that her flight arrives in Port Angeles at one. She's renting a car, and will be at the house at about two. Will you be here?"

"Maybe. We're spending the day out at First Beach with some kids from school. We might not be back by then," Bella told him.

"I'd like you to be here when she arrives," Charlie said. "She said she can't wait to see you."

"I'm sure." Bella said under her breath.

Charlie left, and we were finally alone. I jumped off of the couch and put my arms around her. I kissed her lips softly, as she put her arms around my neck. She sighed into my mouth, and I took that opportunity to slide my tongue between her lips. She readily accepted my advance by curling her tongue around mine. My hands slipped under the loose fitting shirt she was wearing, feeling the warmth of her skin on my hands.

"Edward," she said against my eager lips. "I took my last birth control pill today."

"What?" I asked, between kisses.

"I took the last pill. I can't get any more since I'm supposed to be pregnant. So…" she trailed off.

"So if I want to have sex with my wife, today is the last day until we find some other sort of contraception?" I finished for her. She nodded, but pulled away.

"Yes, but I haven't been feeling very good today, so…I'm sorry, I just…"

I rested my forehead on hers. She wasn't feeling well, and she didn't want to do it right now. That was fine; I just have to will my myself into calming down. "It's OK, Bella. Do you still want to go to the beach today?"

"Yes, I don't want to be here when my mother arrives." She looked sad.

"Let's go to the beach. It will take your mind off of everything for a few hours."

"OK," she said, and rubbed her hands up and down my back a few more times before she pulled away.

Bella picked up a small beach bag filled with I don't know what, and we both headed out to my car.

Fifteen minutes later, we were pulling up and parking along side of the small road that ran along the beach. I saw Emmett's jeep a few cars up from ours, along with several other cars including a van. There was a small parking lot there too, but it was full. I was surprised at how many people were at the beach today. I guess with the usually crappy weather, people took advantage of a little sun and came out in droves.

I grabbed Bella's bag from the back seat, and took her hand while we walked down to the sand.

We were immediately greeted by Emmett and Rosalie. Bella ran over to Rose and hugged her tightly. They hadn't seen each other since before our wedding, and I could tell that she had missed her friend. Alice and Jasper waved from the edge of the water.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Emmett said, while putting an arm around my shoulders. "We're setting up a volleyball net, interested?"

"Sure, though volleyball is not really my sport," I chuckled. I was usually pretty good at any sport that I tried, but baseball was always my best sport. I had been playing baseball since I could hold a bat. I missed it really. The boarding school in Boston didn't have any sports teams, so I hadn't been able to play for over a year.

"Tell me that you at least know how to play. I'd really hate it if Newton and his friends beat us at a girls' game," Emmett asked.

"No, I can play." I would love to smack Mike in the back of the head with a seemingly missed aligned spike.

"Good, now prove it." I guess Emmett was a little competitive.

I walked over to where Bella was shaking out a blanket to lay on the sand. I quickly ran over to help her. She had said that she wasn't feeling well, and I didn't want her to overexert herself.

We straightened out the blanket and Bella sat down in the middle. She had a bottle of water, and was sipping on it.

"Emmett wants to play volleyball," I told her. "Are you going to be OK over here by yourself?" I felt bad that she couldn't play. Even if she was feeling alright, she still shouldn't play due to the fact that everyone thought that she was pregnant.

"I'll be fine, I'll watch from here," she said with a wink.

I grinned at her, and started to pull off my hooded sweatshirt. If this was going to be some sort of big competition, I definitely didn't want to sweat to death.

I was trying to hold the t-shirt that I was wearing underneath my hoodie down, but was unable to succeed. So, instead, I just whipped both shirts off over my head. I could hear the static when I pulled off my shirts, so I was running my hand through my hair trying to get it to lie down, when I heard the sound of girls giggling. I looked down at Bella sitting on the blanket, and she was smiling wide. She waved me down, so I sat on my heels in front of her bent legs.

"You have an audience," she whispered.

"Huh?" I glanced over to where her eyes were looking, and sure enough, the blond and the curly-headed brunette from the diner were gawking at us.

"What's their problem?" I asked Bella quietly.

"They think that my husband is hot," she giggled as a reply.

Hot? Please.

She saw my disbelief, and sat up on her knees and grabbed me around my neck. She pulled me down until I practically fell on top of her. Lying on my elbows so that I wouldn't squish her, I brought my face closer, and brushed my lips over hers. She responded by grabbing fistfuls of my hair and securing our mouths together.

We were interrupted by a loud laugh and a kick to my leg. "Geez, the honeymoon's not over is it?" Emmett chuckled. I rolled over onto my back and flipped him off. That only made him laugh louder. "Finish up being all kissy face with Bella, and get over there, we're about to start," he said pointing over to the net.

I groaned and sat up. I started to stand, but Bella grabbed my wrist. "Wait," she said. "You need sun block."

I looked up to the cloudy sky, and then back at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"Edward, just because its overcast doesn't mean that you can't get sun burnt. You're so pale, it couldn't hurt." She held up the bottle of sun screen and flipped open the top. She crawled up behind me on her knees, and started rubbing the lotion on my neck and back. Once the top half of me was thoroughly covered in SPF 30, I was allowed to head over to the volleyball net.

As I walked up, Emmett was shaking his head. "What?" I asked, squinting at him.

"Nothing, nothing," he said, holding his hands up in front of him in surrender.

We played three games. They were all pretty intense. My team consisted of Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and myself. The other team was Mike, Eric, Lauren, and Jessica. We won two out of three, and Emmett was whooping and hollering like he had just won the gold medal in the Olympics. The best part of the day wasn't even the big win. It was when my dream of smacking Mike with the volleyball happened. It didn't knock him in the head, which I preferred, but it did hit him hard on the left thigh, leaving a giant red welt. I tried my best holding in my amusement, with just showing a slight smirk on my face, but Emmett and Jasper howled and fell back onto the sand when it happened.

I looked over to Bella when it happened, and she just closed her eyes and shook her head.

After we scored the last point, Emmett and Jasper tackled me. They picked me up and ran to the ocean. Needless to say, I was dunked in the freezing cold water repeatedly before I could get out and run to Bella who was holding out a giant towel for me. She wrapped it around my shoulders and rubbed my back trying to get me to warm up. My teeth finally stopped chattering when my skin was completely dry. Emmett said that I was the biggest baby that he'd ever seen in his life.

We all lounged around for about another hour and a half just talking and eating lunch. Bella had made us all sandwiches, and purposely left off the mayo for me. People thought that I was crazy, but I was not about to be poisoned by warm mayonnaise. Plus, mayo is gross. Everybody knows that.

People started packing up their stuff and heading to their cars. Bella lingered around saying that she just wanted to make sure she had everything. When in reality, I knew that she was just dragging her feet. She didn't want to have this confrontation with her mother.

I shook out the blanket, folded it over my arm, and scooped up the beach bag Bella had brought. I jogged it up to the car and shoved it all into the trunk. When I looked back down to the beach, I saw Alice and Rosalie hugging Bella. By the time I was half way to Bella, the two girls passed by me.

"Just remember Edward, Bella is welcome at our house too," Alice reminded me. Rosalie patted me on the shoulder as they continued walking.

Bella was standing facing the ocean when I reached her. She was looking down, watching the water lap at her toes. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, and kissed her neck. "What are you thinking?" I whispered against her skin.

"I'm afraid to go home," she said quietly. "I'm afraid to go to my own home."

I turned her to face me. The look on her face was heartbreaking. There were so many emotions flickering across her face at the same time. I pulled her into my chest and hugged her close. Her arms slid around my waist and she pressed her face into my shirt. All I could do was hold her and tell her everything was going to be OK.

We stood like that for a few more minutes. I pressed my lips into the top of her head. "We need to get this over with, and then we can both stay at Alice and Emmett's."

She nodded against my chest without looking at me.

I pulled away from her and took her hand in mine. We walked up to the car in silence. I sat her down in the passenger seat before running around the front of the car and hopping in on the driver's side.

I turned on the ignition, and pulled out on the road. The drive from La Push to Forks was somewhat curvy, and before we pulled out of the trees and into town, Bella looked at me in panic.

"Edward, stop the car. I think I'm gonna be sick," she shrieked, holding one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach.

I think I panicked too. I certainly did not want the smell of vomit in my car for the rest of its existence. I pulled over immediately, and Bella threw the door open before I even came to a complete stop. She unlatched her seatbelt and was out of the car in a flash towards the bushes. By the time I made it out of the car and over to her, she was finished. Her face was flushed and she was shaking.

"Are you OK?" I asked, steering her back to the car so that she could sit. She just shook her head. I opened the trunk and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here, take a sip."

Bella took the water and rinsed out her mouth before swallowing any. Her forehead was a little sweaty, but her shaking had subsided.

I closed her in the passenger side, and walked slowly around to my side. I got in and nervously raked my hand through my hair. "Bella, please say something."

"Let's get this over with," she rasped, her voice scratchy from throwing up. I reached over and brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ear.

"Just remember, whatever happens, we'll be together." I took her hand and rubbed my thumb over the ring on her left hand.

I held her hand the rest of the way to Charlie's. We pulled up along the front of the house, since there was a nondescript white rental car in the driveway. Renee.

We both got out of the car and met on the grass of the front yard. I took her hand once again and we headed for the front door.

Inside the house, we could hear Charlie and Renee talking. Well, mostly we could hear Renee talking.

"Finally you're back," Renee scolded when we allowed ourselves to be seen at the entryway to the living room. "Bella, what were you thinking?"

"Mom," Bella started.

"No, don't 'mom' me Miss I-think-I'm-all-grown-up-now," Renee snapped. "Get in here and sit down."

"And, you!" she shouted at me. "You!" Renee's face was bright red with anger. "You can get the hell out of this house!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but was caught off guard by Bella's voice.

"Renee, you have no right to come in here, to Charlie's house, and make any demands. You gave up that right when you sent me here! Edward is my husband, and if you can't be nice, well then, I guess _you_ can leave."

Renee looked back to Charlie who was standing in the middle of the room waiting to take charge if this argument got out of control. "Are you just going to stand there? Remove this boy from our house!"

"Renee, calm down. Nobody's going anywhere," Charlie calmly spoke. "It's best if we all sit down and talk about this."

"Talk? Talk? Are you kidding me Charlie Swan? This boy has ruined our daughter's life!"

"No mom, you ruined my life. I thought that when you sent me here that I would never see Edward again. It wasn't until we found each other again that things have gotten better," Bella stated.

"Bella, how can you say that? I sent you here to save you from him. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be pregnant, or married. If I would have let you stay in California, this pregnancy would have happened much sooner, I think."

I couldn't believe the crazy logic that Renee was spewing at Bella.

"No, if I would have stayed in California, Edward and I would have had a normal high school relationship. We wouldn't have had to sneak around and get married behind everyone's back. We could have gone to the prom, and went on our senior trip together. We'd had waited and gotten married later rather than sooner. Not that I mind being married at seventeen, but if by getting married was the only way we could stay together, well, that's what had to happen. So, there is no reason for you to be here. It's done and over with. There's nothing you can do now, so get over it." Bella turned and stormed up the stairs to her room. She had tears running down her face.

I turned to follow, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Charlie. "Son, maybe you should head on home for now."

"But, she needs me. I can't leave her like this," I pleaded. "She isn't feeling well, and I just need to make sure she's OK."

"All right, go ahead and check on her, but you're going to have to leave soon, it's getting late. And don't even think about sneaking her out and over to the Cullen place."

Charlie was getting wiser.

I took the steps two at a time just so that I could get to Bella sooner. I could hear Renee downstairs complaining to Charlie about my presence in the house.

I wrapped on the door twice before opening it to reveal Bella packing a bag. "Charlie says I can't sneak you out of the house tonight."

"I don't care, I'm going," she informed me.

"Bella, please," I begged. "I don't want to leave you, but I also don't want to upset your dad. He's the only rational parent we almost have on our side."

Bella sat down on her bed, defeated; dropping the bag she was holding.

"I'm sorry, Love," I said, squatting down on the floor in front of her, my hands resting on her thighs.

"Stay until I fall asleep?" she asked.

"Of course, I will."

Bella pulled off the pants she was wearing, crawled up onto her small bed, and slid into the sheets. I tucked the blankets around her, and laid down next to her. She put her head on my chest, and her arm around my waist.

I rubbed her back soothingly, and after a few minutes she was sound asleep. I was drifting off too, until I heard the bedroom door creak open.

Charlie was standing in the light from the hallway.

I kissed Bella's forehead, before I untangled myself from her arms. I made sure she didn't wake before I walked out of her bedroom door.

Charlie put his hand on my back as we walked down the steps to the front door.

I stepped outside, but before I could say anything to Charlie, Renee burst out the front door.

"I don't know how you have manipulated my daughter into all of this, but it is over now. I'm taking her back to Florida to live with me, and you are not to step foot with in 100 yards of us. I will get a restraining order, and somehow get this marriage absolved if it is the last thing I do."

"You can go back to Florida by yourself, and you will not be taking my wife away from me again. Maybe we will be the ones getting a restraining order against you!"

"We'll see about that, won't we Charlie?" Renee turned back to her ex-husband waiting for him to back her up.

I was seething with anger. This woman was not going to ruin our lives again. I wouldn't let her.

"Give it up Renee. It's too late to keep the money. My father will find out about the marriage and the baby, I'm sure. He'll be looking for you, you know? You won't be able to hide. I hope you haven't spent it all in one place," I sneered. I was done trying to be civil with this woman.

"What money, Renee?" Charlie asked looking a bit shocked.

Before she could speak, I cut in.

"My father paid her off to keep Bella away from me. Oh, and ask Phil how it was that he was able to procure a spot on a professional baseball team with such a small amount of actual talent."

A small intake of air was all I heard. Bella was standing in the doorway with her hands over her mouth.

Renee glared at me. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under.

I almost wanted to be dead at this point, because Bella knew nothing of her mother's exchange with my father. This information was going to tear her apart even more.

Bella ran back up the stairs and I heard her door slam shut. I started to head back into the house, but Charlie stopped me. "Go home, Edward," he said. "Come back tomorrow."

"But I…"

"I'll make sure she's OK."

I nodded, and walked to my car. I looked up at the window to Bella's room. Her light was still on and she was in the window. When she saw me she let the curtain close and the light flicked off.


	20. The TruthAlmost

**A/N: So I normally don't switch POVs in this story, but it kinda had to happen this time. **

Bella

I pulled away from the window and clicked off the light. With me being shadowed in the dark, I knew that Edward couldn't see me anymore from where he was on the driveway. The hurt look in his eyes made me want to run down the stairs and comfort him, but I was just as hurt, maybe even more.

I had just discovered that my mother, my own flesh and blood, had sold me out for her and Phil's benefit. I didn't know what to think. Of course, I was still unbelievably angry at my mother for shipping me off to Washington and separating me from the love of my life, but this really tipped me over the edge. My already shaky stomach churned again, and I rushed out of my room to get to the small bathroom that separated my father and my rooms.

I threw up for the second time today, and cradled my cramping stomach with my arms as I sat back against the faded yellow wall in the bathroom opposite the toilet. I heard the front door slam shut, and the angry voices of my parents downstairs. I couldn't make out what they were saying since I had the bathroom door shut, but I could tell it was a heated discussion.

I couldn't control the sob that had been threatening to burst through my lips any longer, and I let myself cry.

I cried about my mother. I cried about my father. I cried about this messed up situation Edward and I had put ourselves in with the whole baby thing. I hated that we were lying to everyone, even to the people that we didn't know. I figured that my mother wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the fake baby. But, most of all I cried because Edward knew about what happened between his father and my mother, and he never said a word. Not one single word. What did that mean for us?

My stomach cramped again, and I leaned forward and hugged my knees to my chest to keep myself fetal until the pain and nausea subsided.

I rolled a strip of toilet paper off the spindle to wipe my eyes and nose, and I heard a soft knock at the bathroom door.

"Bells?" My father asked. I was somewhat relieved to hear that it was my father and not my mother.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, Dad?"

"Are you OK? Can I come in?"

I was a little wary. From the time that I had moved here to now, we had only had like maybe two actual heart to heart talks, and they only lasted about five minutes each. This time, however, being as vulnerable as I was now, I might just say more than I needed to.

I allowed him entry into the tiny space. He leaned against the doorframe and ran his hand over his face. "Are you sick? Do we need to take you in to the hospital?"

"No, no, I'm just…overwhelmed I guess." Charlie didn't look convinced, but he still came further into the room. He squatted down, facing me with his back to the vanity next to the toilet. He let himself sit down on the tiled floor. He put his rough hand on my foot, because it was the only part of me he could reach, and squeezed it.

"Your mother is still here, but I am forcing her to stay on the ground floor. I won't let her have access to you until you request it. I suggested that she get a hotel after tonight if she insists on staying in town."

I nodded my head and looked at my knees.

"It's not his fault, you know?" Charlie said, surprising me. I looked up at him. "He was protecting you. I…may have done the same if I had known."

Again, I stayed quiet. Charlie took in a deep breath. "Look, Bells. I may not be the easiest person to live with, and I may have not made it easy on you and Edward over the last few days, but I love you and want what's best for you. And, even though I don't necessarily agree with what you two have done, and the extremes you've taken to stay together I think that maybe…Edward might…be what's best for you."

My eyes snapped up to his. He was serious.

"He wanted to come back up here tonight, but I told him to go home," Charlie continued. "I wanted to give you time to think about what you mother has done, and not blame Edward for it in any way."

"I wouldn't have blamed him," I whispered.

"No, but you would have fought with him, accused him of something that was not in his control." Charlie was looking at a single spot on the wall in front of him. He shook his head and looked back at me. "Bells, I want this to work out between the two of you. You both made the decision to get married, though the baby may have not been planned, you still have a responsibility to live up to. I want the two of you to have your family and be happy. I don't want you to have to live alone like I have. I want for you what I couldn't have."

My dad was showing me a side of him that I had never seen. His vulnerability surprised me.

"Dad," I said, reaching for his hand. "I'm not breaking up with my husband of three days over this. I'm not mom." He nodded and looked up at the ceiling like he was holding back tears.

Now I felt even guiltier. My dad was one of a kind. After all I'd put him through; he still loved me like the day I was born. I needed to talk to Edward. We needed to come clean on Fake Baby Masen. I didn't think that I could take anymore of this guilt. My stomach was telling me that I would have an ulcer before long if I kept this inside any longer.

We sat on the bathroom floor for a few minutes longer, and then finally helped each other up. Charlie hugged me, and kissed the top of my head before leading me to my room. He made sure that I was comfortable in my bed and had a glass of water on my nightstand before retreating to his own room for the night.

I tossed and turned for a few hours before I finally found sleep. My stomach kept gurgling and gave me a few sharp cramps before settling down for the night. My mind was playing tricks on me in my sleep.

I dreamt of Edward and I on the beach with much less clothing than we had on this afternoon. We hadn't been intimate since our wedding night, and it made me long for him consciously and unconsciously. I could only imagine what he felt being a teenaged boy and all. That dream let me sleep peacefully for a while before my next dream woke me with my own screaming.

_Edward and I were lying on the couch in my father's living room. Charlie had finally let Edward live in the house and we were living happily. My belly_ _was swollen with the child that Edward and I conceived last January. The small bump seemed huge in contrast to what my stomach usually looked like, and even though it was barely there, I felt gigantic. My shirt was pulled up past my belly button, and Edward was tracing invisible lines along the slight curve of my stomach. Edward had his head resting on my shoulder and had one leg hanging over both of mine. It was peaceful. _

_A loud racket sounded on the front porch and it startled both of us. We both sat upright, and looked at each other hoping that one of us knew what was going on outside._

_The front door banged open, and there stood my mother and Edward's father._

"_They're in here!" my mother shouted at an unknown person that must have been behind them outside._

_Soon, four men dressed in hospital scrubs came bursting through the open door. Before Edward and I could even react, two of the men grabbed my arms and pulled me from the couch. The other two men did the same to Edward, as our parents watched. I started to panic. My father was not home and probably didn't know that this was even happening to us._

_The four men took Edward and me outside, where I saw one ambulance and one black town car._

_The two men holding me steered me toward the ambulance, while the other two dragged Edward's struggling body to the town car. Before I was lifted into the ambulance, I saw Edward being forcefully shoved into the car. His father and my mother shook hands and an envelope was exchanged. My mother smiled in my direction and the ambulance doors were closed, shutting me inside with the two hostile men._

_I was no match for the orderlies that were holding me hostage. They easily strapped me to a gurney and shouted to the driver to go._

_I fought at the restraints with as much force as I could muster. I was panting heavily and was starting to sweat when one of the orderlies turned his ugly face towards me._

"_It will be over in a few minutes once we get to the hospital."_

_I felt a prick in my hip and I suddenly felt weak. All of my strength flooded out of me. I turned my head to face the orderly on my other side; he was holding a syringe and smiling at me. "To help you relax," he said. I had been drugged._

_Moments later I was being wheeled out of the ambulance and down a hall in the hospital. I had been in Fork's General several times since I had moved here, but I didn't recognize the hallway we were in. It seemed darker and more ominous than the rest of the hospital._

_We turned into a room, and when the lights came on to reveal the setting, my stomach dropped._

_It was an operating room. I started to struggle again, but my attempts were futile as my arms and legs felt like Jell-O._

_My mother appeared at the side of my bed. "Don't worry Bella. It will be over quickly. You won't even know what happened." What was everyone talking about? What would be over quickly?_

_My mother was still talking. "It's for the best. Mr. Masen has taken his son back to California. Your marriage will be overturned in court."_

_I interrupted her with my slurring voice. "You can't do that. We're legally married!"_

"_Bella, don't fight this. Edward's father is a brilliant lawyer. He has a lot of friends in the court system. It won't be a problem for him to get this taken care of quickly and quietly."_

"_But…" I tried to continue._

"_And the baby, well…Edward Sr. just couldn't let there be an unwanted heir running around to mess things up in the future."_

_Just then a doctor waltzed in the room. It was a doctor that I didn't recognize at all. A few nurses entered the room as well and began prepping for the upcoming surgery. My surgery. The one that would kill my baby._

_I started screaming. "No! Don't kill my baby! Please!"_

_A needle was poked into my hand. I looked up to see that it was connected to an IV bag on a pole. A nurse plunged a needle into the line and my eyes drooped._

_I looked through half-closed eyes at my mother's retreating form._

"_Please," I begged to the nurse that was standing closest to me. "Don't do this."_

_My clothes were cut off of me, and a sheet was draped over my lower half, just below my hip bone. Another sheet was put over my now bare breasts, and a cold, wet sensation could be felt all over my belly. I looked on with wild eyes at the sight of the doctor holding a scalpel over my exposed stomach._

_Just as the tip of the knife cut into my skin…_

I awoke screaming a blood curdling scream, with my hands frantically clutching my abdomen through my shirt. The pain in my belly was real, though not as bad as it would be if I was being operated on without anesthesia. I hunched forward in my bed as the feeling of having peed in my pants overwhelmed me and I threw back the blankets on my bed.

I looked down at what had caused the wet feeling between my legs just as both of my parents burst into the room looking frantic.

"Oh my God," my mother gasped raising her hand to cover her mouth.

The fastest I had ever seen Charlie move was at this moment. He grabbed the cotton blanket from the end of my bed and had me wrapped up in it and up in his arms in two seconds flat.

Before Charlie stepped sideways to get the two of us out of my bedroom door, I glanced back at my empty bed.

The bright red stain in the middle of my sheet would have had me in a panic too, if I had been actually pregnant.

Edward

I was lying in my bed at the Cullen's house. I was only in my boxers because I couldn't find the energy to find and put on my sleep pants. Esme, Alice and Emmett's mother, was meticulous about house cleaning, and even though I insisted on cleaning up after myself, she always snuck into the room and took care of all of my laundry, made my bed, cleaned up the en suite bathroom, and tided up the room. I had never had someone take care of me so well. A maid did these things for me in my parent's house, and even though the Cullen's definitely had enough money for a maid, I thought that maybe Esme liked doing these things for her family. So my sleep pants were not where I left them- in a heaping mess on the bathroom floor. They were probably folded up nicely in the dresser smelling of fabric softener.

I woke up to the Cullen's house phone ringing down the hall. I looked at the clock on my bedside table to see that it was half past three. I had been woken up by calls in the middle of the night a couple of time since I'd been here. It was just the life of a doctor. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow.

I was lucky that I had fallen asleep in the first place. After leaving Bella tonight my mind was on overdrive. I had really screwed things up. I should have told her about her mother and the money. I just didn't want her to hate her mother even more. I wanted us to be able to leave that life behind us, and not dwell on the past. If I had brought this topic up, it just would have caused more anger and resentment. It wouldn't have let us move on. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and couldn't see that it would come out eventually, and it had stalled us once again. I was probably the worst husband on the planet. I had only been married for three days and I had already messed things up.

The sound of my bedroom door squeaking open brought me back to full consciousness.

"Edward, honey?" Esme's soft voice called.

I sat up pulling the sheet over my lap. I felt a little embarrassed that she had to see me in just my underwear.

"Carlisle just called from the hospital," she hesitated. I furrowed my brow in confusion. "The Chief just brought Bella into emergency. Honey, you need to get down there."

Before she even had Bella's name completely out of her mouth, I was up and searching for my pants and a t-shirt. I found my jeans, hanging in the closet of all places, and a t-shirt in the dresser. I put on my battered Chuck's sans socks, and was out the door, keys in hand.

I tried not to panic as I drove at top speed to the hospital. I crossed my fingers that Charlie was overreacting to Bella's stomach ache. She must have thrown up again, but this time in his presence. God, I hoped that Renee wasn't there. She would only add to Bella's stress.

I raced into a parking spot and slammed the car into park. I bolted from the car and ran into the emergency room sliding doors. I looked back and forth from the waiting room and the hallway that led to the exam rooms, not knowing where I would find Bella.

Charlie and Renee were seated in the waiting room chairs. Charlie spotted me and came over to where I was standing.

"They're examining her now," he said.

"What happened?" I croaked, realizing that I had not spoken a word since I had been at the Swan house.

"She woke up screaming, from a dream she said, and then we saw that she was bleeding…" Charlie looked uncomfortable explaining his daughter's illness.

"Bleeding from where? Did she fall out of bed? What happened?" I swear I was going to need to be sedated if someone didn't tell me what the hell was going on.

"Edward, it doesn't look good for the baby," Charlie finally choked out. I looked at him wide-eyed. What was he even talking about? There wasn't even a baby for it to not look good for.

"Edward," Carlisle Cullen called.

I turned to see him walking from the exam room area. "What is going on?"

"I need you to come in the back with me. Bella's waiting." Charlie started to follow, but Carlisle stopped him. "Sorry Chief, one person at a time, and Edward is her husband."

I could see Charlie's face start to turn angry, but then relax as he nodded at the doctor.

Carlisle walked me down the hallway until we got to a curtain and stopped. "She's been given something to help for the pain. It has made her a little groggy."

Carlisle pushed open the curtain to reveal my Bella looking pale and weak in her hospital bed. She opened her eyes and saw me. She smiled weakly and motioned for me to come to her.

I stepped up to her bed and took her hand in mine. "What happened, Love?"

Bella's lip began to tremble and a few tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. I sat on the edge of her bed and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"Do you want me to tell him?" Carlisle asked from the curtain. Bella nodded and I looked to Carlisle for some enlightenment. I was going to freak out if someone didn't explain soon.

Carlisle's hand rested on my shoulder. "I'm sorry son, but she has lost the baby."

My eyes shot to Bella's and she started crying. What? Had she really been pregnant?

Carlisle continued. "She woke up this morning with cramping and bleeding. We ran some tests and did an ultrasound they proved that she had lost the fetus. A Dilation and Curettage was performed to remove any remaining tissue from her uterus. She can go home in about an hour after we are sure that the bleeding has stopped and her vitals are normal."

Carlisle slid the curtain closed, and I saw his feet retreat from the doorway. I turned back to Bella. "You had to have surgery?"

"Yes. It's something they do after a miscarriage," she sniffed. "I don't know if they will be able to tell that I wasn't pregnant. They may test what they removed, or could tell from my blood sample." She looked like she was starting to panic.

"It doesn't matter now if they find out or not. We're married and there's nothing they can do about it," I said quietly so that we were not overheard.

Bella scooted over in the bed, wincing at her movements. "Lay here with me until they let me go home."

I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed next to my wife. She moved slowly, but managed to bury her face into my chest and put her arm around my waist. I gently held her close, running my hand slowly up and down her back.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I whispered into her hair. "Did it hurt?"

"It wasn't so bad except that I was awake. They used a local anesthesia that numbed up my, well, my womanly parts." she chuckled. I couldn't believe she was being so light-hearted about the whole thing. I was pissed at myself for letting it get this far.

She must have felt me tense up because she started rubbing _my_ back. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just thinking that it was my punishment for lying to everyone. I feel less guilty now that I had to suffer through that."

Did she have to say that? Now I was feeling guiltier than before.

"But what about the bleeding and cramping?" I asked.

"That was just my regular period, I guess. Sometimes it's worse than others. This one was a doozy. I told you that I took my last birth control pill, though my period doesn't usually start until Monday or Tuesday of the next week." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I feel terrible that you had to go through this," I whined.

"Don't worry, please," she pleaded. "It's OK, though you don't get out of it completely unscathed."

"What? Nothing has happened to me except an almost heart attack when Esme told me you were in the hospital," I explained.

Bella looked up at me and smiled. "But, baby, you don't get to have sex with your wife for at least two more weeks."

**A/N 2: I also don't know much about miscarriages so I Googled it. I didn't mean to sound stupid on the topic, but I worked with what my Google search gave me.**


	21. accepting

Bella

Edward and I held each other silently on the hospital bed. He had gotten really quiet after I made the sex joke. I was only trying to lighten the mood, but he didn't seem to find it very funny. I knew that he was going to blame himself for the pain that I had to go through with the surgery even though it wasn't really that bad.

When I had first been brought into the ER, I was seen immediately. I guess being the police chief's daughter had some perks to it. Charlie had been very calm during the drive to the hospital, and it wasn't until he had me in the hospital staff's hands did he show any kind of fatherly panic. The doctors had made him wait outside of the curtain due to the sensitivity of the exam they had to perform, but he was back at my side once they had finished.

Renee had driven to the hospital with us, but was made to wait in the waiting area. Charlie had pointed at her like a dog and told her to 'stay' in the waiting room on our way into the ER. The crease in his brow was the only outwardly visible sign that he was still furious with Renee and what she had done.

There were three doctors on duty in the ER, a male, a female, and Dr. Cullen. Luckily the female doctor was available for the exam. It didn't really sit right with me to have the father of my best friends' examine my private areas; however, Dr. Cullen did look over the test results and give me the prognosis.

At one point I was left alone in the exam room, and I could overhear the doctors talking about my case. I was paranoid that they would find out that I hadn't really been pregnant. Thankfully the original chart that was made for me when I came in for the pregnancy test was available, and it proved that at one time I had been pregnant.

The doctors were certainly baffled by my current blood test results. They only way they could explain it was that I must have lost the baby weeks ago, but didn't know it, and only now did my body reject the tissue. They did the surgery as a precaution to make sure that everything had been removed. I didn't argue with them about the procedure because I wanted it to still seem that I thought I had been pregnant. The last thing Edward and I needed was for people to find out that I had never been pregnant. I wasn't even sure if our marriage would be legal if it was found out. It had crossed my mind that maybe I really could have been pregnant, but then shook my head at how ridiculous that was. I mean, Edward and I had only had sex the night of our wedding, and that had only been four nights ago.

I wasn't sure what time it was. I still had my face pressed into Edward's chest when Dr. Cullen came in to tell me that I could head home. I knew that Edward had been awake the whole time, but had kept quiet, because his hand slid softly up and down my back the entire time.

Edward sat up and started to put his shoes back on. Dr. Cullen gave me a prescription for pain medication. He said that it should be more uncomfortable than painful, but wanted me to have the pills just in case.

Edward wanted to take me to the Cullen's house to stay with him, but Charlie insisted that I come home. He promised that my mother would not be there when I got home.

Edward and I drove silently back to my house. The frown on his face showed that he was not over blaming himself for the situation.

"Edward?" I said, turning my head to look at him.

"Hmm?" Was all I got in reply.

"Don't beat yourself up over this. We needed to find a way to get ourselves out of this mess, and now it's over. Please don't worry."

He let out a big breath of air. "I'm…relieved that the façade is over, but I still feel guilty that you had to have surgery."

"I know, but I'm fine. Really."

He reached over the middle console and took my hand in his. We stayed quiet for the rest of the short drive to my house.

Edward helped me out of the car, and into the house. Charlie was waiting just inside the door for us.

"I just want to get cleaned up and go to bed." Charlie and Edward both nodded and stepped forward to help me up the stairs.

"I've got her," Edward said putting an arm around my waist.

"Yes, I know you do," Charlie replied looking Edward in the eye.

Edward and I slowly went up the first few steps. My stomach was a little sore from the inside out, and that made any muscle movement in my abdomen hurt. After about the third step, Edward scooped me up with one hand under my arms and around my back, and one arm under my knees. He trotted up the stairs like I weighed nothing and stopped in front of the bathroom door.

"Do you want to take a shower?" he asked.

"Yeah, I feel all gross."

We went into the bathroom and Edward started the water. He pulled a towel out and put it on the counter for me. I took off the t-shirt that I had worn to bed and the pair of scrub bottoms that the hospital had given me since I came in without any pants.

"I'll just be outside, OK?" Edward asked before he walked out the door and pulled it closed.

My underwear had been stained with blood and the hospital replaced them with these half material half paper temporary granny panties. They were kind of hideous and they were too big. I took them off and threw them into the trash.

I felt much better after washing myself. When I got out of the shower, I found that Edward had left me some clothes on the bathroom counter. He had given me a fresh t-shirt and a pair of panties. I wondered how he felt going through my underwear drawer to get these out. I'd have to ask about that later.

After towel drying my hair and getting dressed in the clothes Edward had left out for me, I made it into my room.

My bed had been freshly made with clean sheets and blankets. Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed, and jumped up when he saw me.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes, much."

Edward pulled back the blankets on my bed, and helped me in. He stood and headed to the bedroom door.

"You're leaving?" I said sitting up quickly. My head spun momentarily but righted itself in just a few seconds.

"Um, yeah, I doubt that Charlie will let me stay," he said scratching the back of his neck.

"I want you to stay, Edward." He looked torn. He knew that Charlie would probably kick him out tonight. "I need you to stay."

Edward stood at the foot of my bed for a few moments before he nodded and turned to my open bedroom door. "Charlie?" he yelled down the stairs. "I'm…I'm staying over tonight, OK?"

I heard a mumble of agreement from my father who was still downstairs. I was shocked, really.

Edward walked back over to me on the bed, kicking his shoes off on the way. "This bed's really small," he commented.

"I guess I'll have to snuggle up real close then, won't I?" I smiled up at him.

He cracked the first smile of the night, or morning I should say, and crawled into bed with me. I cuddled up to him like we had been lying in the hospital and closed my eyes.

Morning greeted us harshly with the sound of the doorbell ringing. And ringing, and ringing.

I heard my dad tromp down the stairs grumbling under his breath about how whatever had caused someone to wake us up this early had better be damn important.

The front door creaked open, and all I could hear was the screech of my mother's angry voice yelling about needing to see me immediately, and that she knew that 'that boy' was here.

"She's fine, Renee. Let them sleep, it was a long night," Charlie pleaded with the banshee that was also known as my mother.

"Let _them_ sleep? Charlie, don't tell me that you've let that boy sleep with her. That is what got her in trouble in the first place!"

I heard a little bit of shuffling, and footsteps on the stairs. My bedroom door was still open, and my mother appeared in it in a matter of seconds. "What is going on in here?" Renee shouted.

Edward jumped at the sound of her voice. He had been sound asleep during the doorbell ringing and the argument downstairs. He sat up on his elbow, and started rubbing his eyes. My dad came in the room and stood by the old rocking chair in the corner.

"Renee, please say what you have come here to say and leave us in peace," Charlie said calmly from the side of the room.

"Bella, I would like to speak with you in private, please," my mother said through gritted teeth.

"No, Mom," I yawned. "You gave up your right to have an opinion on what I do or don't do when you sent me here to live with Dad, and took money to get rid of me. I have nothing more to say to you private or otherwise."

"Listen here young lady, you-" Renee started but was cut off.

"Renee, I am only going to ask you nicely once," my dad said. "You leave this house and don't come back. If Bella ever wants to talk to you again in her lifetime, she will be the one making contact with you. I, for one, am done with you. You left me and took my only daughter from me when she was just under a year old. I finally get her back, and you are already trying to take her away again. Let her be happy. Let her make her own decisions. You've already have made plenty of bad mistakes yourself. Let's not make any more."

My mother stared at my father for several minutes before she stormed out of the room and down the stairs. "This is not over Charlie Swan!" Renee yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Edward and I sat silent in my bed. Charlie's face was red. "Don't worry about her, Bella," Charlie said before he walked out of my room.

"Do you think that she's going to do something to us?" I asked Edward.

"I don't think she really can, except harass us or something. She doesn't dare tell my parents where I am, she'd lose all of her bribe money."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Edward and I laid back down and rested for a few more hours after that. Neither of us could sleep, but I still felt good to hold each other for a while.

Later in the day, just as expected, my dad let us know that even though he had let Edward stay over last night, it would not be happening again. I just didn't get why he was so adamant about separating us at night. It wasn't like we were going to have wild monkey sex in the room across the hall from him any time soon. Plus, I was in no condition to even give it a go right now. The doctors insisted that we wait at least two weeks before even trying to have sex. It was sad really, our honeymoon had lasted only one night, and since then we have never even had the opportunity to bask in the newlywed life.

I returned to school on Wednesday. Edward drove me to school and picked me up everyday. I wanted him to come by and have lunch with me, but the school had rules about non students on campus. I would have to get Edward a guest pass sometime so that he could spend the day with me in school.

After school on Friday, Edward and I settled on the couch and watched a little TV to pass the time before I had to start dinner. Afternoon TV was atrocious, and we ended up making out instead.

Edward pushed me gently onto my back, and he crawled up over the top of me. His long hair hung over his forehead and almost in his eyes as he looked down at me. "I love you so much, Bella," he said before pressing his soft lips back onto mine. I moaned softly when I felt his tongue lightly brush my bottom lip. Without hesitating, I opened my mouth to him. I loved when we had a few moments to ourselves. Just kissing Edward was all I needed to make my day a happy one. I knew that he was as disappointed as I was when we were told 'no sex for two weeks'. But, he had been very understanding and had not complained once since my surgery.

Our kissing continued, and Edward had moved to kissing and sucking at my neck and behind my ear. I hoped he did and hoped he didn't leave a mark on my skin. Like any father, Charlie didn't like seeing the remnants of our private time together, but at the same time I loved the idea that the kids from school would see. Maybe Mike Newton would lay off the flirting once and for all if he saw a hickey on my skin. I doubted it though. Mike had still kept up his usual advances even though he had known that I was with child, and was now married.

My fingers slid through Edward's soft hair. He had always liked it when I played with his hair whether we were kissing or not. A close second to playing with his hair was scratching his back. He was a very affectionate boy. Maybe he was overcompensating for the lack of affection given to him as he was growing up.

I could tell that Edward was really getting into our make out session. I could feel how aroused he had gotten against my thigh through his jeans. I felt bad that we couldn't take this further. He couldn't help the reaction his body had to me. I decided that even if I couldn't have any sort of release, he could.

I gently pushed on Edward's shoulders. "Edward…" I panted.

"Hmm?" he hummed against my skin, but kept on kissing my jaw line.

"Stop for a minute," I said pressing him back from me. "I want to try something."

Edward pulled his face back far away enough so that he could see my eyes. "What?"

"Sit back," I told him. "I want to try something."

Edward pulled himself off of me like I asked, but looked confused as to why I wanted him to stop kissing me. He sat with his back against the back cushions of the couch with his feet on the floor. "Did I hurt you?" he asked looking a little alarmed.

"No, no, I'm fine…I just want to do something," I didn't know why I was being so evasive. I guess I just didn't want to say it out loud, in case I chickened out. I didn't want him to be disappointed. "Sit back and relax."

He relaxed into the couch a little bit, but I could tell he was concerned with my behavior. I scooted closer to him so that one of my legs was curled up underneath me and the other was hanging over the edge of the couch, my foot touching the floor.

I didn't know why I was suddenly so nervous. He was my husband for crying out loud. I could do these things to him. I could. I would.

I licked my lips as he continued to stare at me. I reached over with both of my hands to unbutton his jeans. I watched my hands work open the button fly of his pants, I didn't dare look back to his face to see his expression. I was determined that I could do this.

Girls at school gave blow jobs on a daily basis to just random guys at school, but they were deemed slutty. Edward was my husband, and there was nothing wrong with what I was about to do.

It was funny to think about really. I mean, most people did this before they even had sex. I guess everything about Edward and I was backwards. We had just headed straight for the main event when we were sixteen instead of working our way up to it.

Once I had his pants open, I tugged on his pants and boxers to try and get them pulled down a little bit to give myself some room to work with. Edward lifted his hips, and helped me with his pants. It seemed that he knew what was coming, but maybe not though. I had only given him a hand job in the past, and that was on our wedding night for Pete's sake. I didn't think he expected what was to come next.

I pulled him out of his boxers and held him in my hand. He was warm and his skin was so smooth and soft here. He was already hard and I didn't think that it would take much to get him off. He was a seventeen year old boy who had only had sex twice in his life, and the two times were about a year and a half apart from each other.

He sucked in a breath as I moved my fingers over his erection and suddenly gripped him with my whole hand. I slid my hand slowly up and down his length as he started to breathe harder.

I chanced a look to his face. His eyes were half closed as he watched what I was doing to him. His green eyes slid up to meet mine, and held them for a few moments until I broke eye contact by lowering my head down over his lap and putting my lips over the head of his erection. I pulled my lips off of him while my hand kept a slow rhythm. I contemplated the taste of him-salty and sweet at the same time. There had been some liquid that had gathered on the tip of him before I had taken my first taste, and I had been scared that it would gross me out. It wasn't so bad, so I went in for more.

I tried to take him into my mouth as far as he could go, but my gag reflex wouldn't let me. I didn't want to gag on him and make him think that I thought that what I was doing was disgusting. I wanted him to enjoy himself, not worry about me.

I bobbed my head up and down on him, and kept my hand over the part of him that my mouth left out. I let my tongue swirl around him at the same time. It was soon that I found out what he liked. His moans and curses let me know I was doing a good job.

Soon, I felt his body tense as his breathing sped up. "Oh my God, Bella… I'm gonna…I'm gonna…" he growled out. I knew what was going to happen, and since I hadn't thought ahead of time of what I was going to do at this point, I started to panic. It would be a matter of seconds before he came into my mouth, and I wasn't sure if I wanted that. Sure, Edward was my husband, sure, I loved him more that life itself, but did I really want some of his bodily fluids to erupt into my mouth? And then I would have to answer the age old question of do I spit or swallow? What kind of girl was I?

Edward tensed up completely and let out what I considered an amazing sound that I had only heard three times in my life, once, a year and a half ago in his parents' pool house, and twice on our wedding night. So, I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared myself to let it happen…in my mouth. I swallowed quickly, just so I didn't have to taste it for very long.

The taste wasn't as disgusting as I thought it would be, but it still didn't taste that great. Would it be rude to excuse myself to brush my teeth?

I looked at the beautiful content face of my husband. His eyes were closed and a small smile played on his lips. His eyes cracked open and his smile grew. "Thanks, Bella. I really needed that."

I smiled at him proudly like I had just invented the blow job. My smile dropped drastically when I heard the sound of a door closing on a car. A car that sounded like it was just out the front of my house. "Crap, Charlie!"

Edward jumped up from the couch to pull his pants back up and button them closed. I straightened my clothes and ran to the mirror in the hall to see if there were any leftovers of Edward's spunk left on my lips, or face, or shirt, or wherever I could have gotten it on me.

Edward and I had just settled back on the couch, pretending to have been only watching TV, his arm was around my shoulders and I rested my head against him.

"Hey, kids," Charlie greeted us. "I have a little something for the both of you."

Surprised that Charlie had bought something for us, we both sat up and looked over to him.

Charlie was holding two plastic bags from Newton's Outfitters in his hands. "I was going to talk to you about this before, but with everything that has been going on, I forgot," he said as he handed Edward and I each a bag. "You don't have to participate if you don't want to."

Edward and I shared a quick glance at each other before we opened up the bags on our laps.

Edward pulled out a navy blue t-shirt, as did I. "Dad, what is this?" I asked.

"Just unfold them," he said with a tentative smile on his face.

We did as instructed and found that both of our shirts were identical, except for size. The front of the shirt had a police badge iron-on on the left breast that read "Fork's PD". On the back was the advertisement for the annual picnic and baseball game along with small pictures of the businesses that were sponsors. Above all of that on Edward's was written "E. Masen" in bold capital letters. On mine it read "I. Masen" with the same lettering.

I jumped up from the couch and wrapped my arms around my father. The simple fact that my dad had acknowledged my marriage to Edward by putting my name on a dumb t-shirt had me in tears. "Thanks, Dad," I cried into his shirt.

"No problem, Bells," he said patting my back. "So, Edward, what do you say? Are you willing to give Dr. Cullen and his team a run for their money?"

Edward stood and smiled at my dad. He too, knew that this was Charlie's way of accepting him into the family. "Of course, Chief Swan, I'd be happy to."

In the usual Charlie manner, he seemed uncomfortable with my hug after a couple of minutes. He stepped back from me, his weeping daughter, and turned me to latch onto my husband. I gratefully obliged as I happily hugged and swayed with Edward.


	22. The Game

**AN: Thanks for sticking with me on this. I apologize for the infrequent updates...**

During the week, while Bella was in school, I just hung out at the Cullen house or drove around checking out the small town of Forks, Washington.

It didn't take long until I had driven from one end of town to the other and back again. There really wasn't much to Forks. Besides the Cullen house, Bella's house, and the hospital, I hadn't spent much time anywhere else. I thought about driving down to the beach that we had been to, but changed my mind. I didn't want to be there without Bella. I drove back past the high school at a slow pace. I wished that I could go in there and see my wife. I looked at the clock and saw that I still had two and a half hours left before I could pick her up from school. I stopped at a barber's shop to finally cut my mess of hair. When the barber tried to comb it down when he finished cutting it, he laughed and said that he'd have to give me a crew cut for my hair to behave.

I continued down the road hoping for something to catch my eye, something to do…anything. I stopped at a barber's shop to finally cut my mess of hair. When the barber tried to comb it down when he finished cutting it, he laughed and said that he'd have to give me a crew cut for my hair to behave.

Two blocks down and around the corner from the high school sat the police station, maybe I would drop in and see what my father-in-law was up to.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked in the visitor's parking. The last thing I needed was to get a ticket at the freaking police station for parking in the wrong area. I hopped out of the car and pulled open the heavy glass doors that led into the reception area.

"Hello, can I help you?" a woman with long straight dark hair asked.

My eyes scanned the area to see if I could spot the Chief. I didn't see him. "Uh, yeah, I was wondering if Chief Swan was around."

"Who can I tell him is here?" she said, holding up a phone receiver to her ear.

"Edward…Edward Masen," I told her.

"Oh, my goodness! You're the Son-in-Law!" she said excitedly. I nodded. She poked a couple of numbers in the phone pad. "Marcia, you'll never guess who's here. No, no, it's the Chiefs Son-in-Law! Yes, please tell him that he's here, thanks."

A few seconds later, a plump woman with bleach blonde hair bounced around the corner. She swung open the little half door that let you into the office area, put her arms around me, and hugged me so tight that I thought that my eyes were going to pop out.

"Marcia, let the boy go," I heard Charlie chuckled from behind the woman. "Bella would kill me if I let you harm him with one of your bone crushing hugs."

"Sorry, Chief, I just couldn't help myself. He's just perfect for Bella, he's really a handsome young man," she smiled while pinching my cheek.

When Marcia finally let go, I put my hand to my face. She pinched hard, and I was sure that there would be a red mark there for the rest of the day.

"So Edward," Charlie said while leading me to the back office area. There were a couple of desks with officers sitting at them. "What brings you by?"

"Honestly, I have two hours before I can pick up Bella, and I'm bored," I told him.

He began to laugh. "My daughter has you tied around her little finger, doesn't she?"

I nodded and laughed with him.

"The baseball game is this weekend, right?" I asked.

"Yep, I'm happy you decided to play," he grinned at me.

"Yeah, me too, but I was wondering if we were going to practice anytime soon."

"Practice? We don't practice. We just show up and get our butt's kicked." He laughed again.

"Oh."

Charlie looked at his computer screen and then looked around the office. He looked back at me and smiled. "It's been a very slow morning; let's get some practice in now."

I shrugged. "OK."

Charlie gathered up a couple of the officers that would be playing in the game on Saturday and we headed out the back of the station.

Since Forks was such a small town, it wasn't cluttered up with buildings and parking lots. Outside of the station held a small fenced grassy area. We could easily get in a few hits out here.

The officers gathered up a couple of old mitts and an old wooden bat, which was my favorite kind. Most players liked the aluminum bats, but I liked the weight and sturdiness of the wooden kind. I could play with either, but I preferred wood.

It was fun to watch Charlie play around like this. I could tell that his fellow officers enjoyed his company and at the same time respected him. It made me happy to hear Charlie bragging about how good I could play, and how I was going to wipe the field with the hospital team.

The woman with the long dark hair and the cheek pincher rolled out a couple of office chairs to watch. They laughed as the men tossed a few balls back and forth. The dark haired woman grinned and clapped for Charlie, who in turn was sort of…showing off…for her? I'd have to ask Bella about that later.

My eyes squinted while I stood on the area that was representing the pitcher's mound, and took the signal from Charlie, who was playing catcher this inning.

I nodded at him, and brought the ball up to my chest. With a quick peek behind me at what usually was second base, just out of reflex, I wound up and let the ball fly.

The soft thud of the ball hitting Charlie's mitt made me smirk at Officer Mark who was currently up to bat.

Officer Mark scratched the top of his head and turned to Charlie. "He'll do just fine, Charlie. You've really found us a ringer."

"Thanks for testing him out for us, Mark," was Charlie's chuckled reply. "Now swing like you really mean it. You won't hurt his feelings if you hit the ball." Charlie threw the ball back to me. I caught it with the tip of my mitt. Charlie's aim wasn't so great. I only hoped for the sake of Forks he could shoot his gun straight.

I tossed the ball up in the air a couple of times waiting Mark and Charlie's bantering to finish. They finally settled back into their places, and I brought the ball back up to my chest. Charlie sent me a signal for the same pitch that I used last time. I shook him off. I though that Mark would be expecting it. Charlie frowned at me for a moment before he signaled for a fast ball. I nodded my head, and wiped the sweat from my brow with the bottom of my t-shirt, before preparing for the pitch.

When I adjusted the mitt on my hand, I noticed my watch. It was already five to three. Crap, I was a half an hour late to pick up Bella. She had probably tried to call me, but I had left my phone and keys on Charlie's desk.

I jogged up to home base and without stopping I tossed the baseball lightly in the air for Charlie to catch. "I gotta go," I called from a few feet from the door. "I'm late to pick up Bella."

When I turned back, I saw Charlie grinning and waving me off.

I rushed back to Charlie's desk and grabbed my stuff. "What's the hurry, honey?" Marcia called after me. She had needed to come back in the office to man the phones.

"I've got to pick up my wife!" I yelled through the door before it closed behind me.

I pulled out of the parking lot and sped around the corner to the high school. Yes, I sped. I figured that I was safe because all of the officer's on duty were playing baseball behind the station.

I screeched into the parking lot and found Bella sitting on the front steps. She was talking to that Mike Newton guy. I didn't know why this guy bugged me so much. Probably because he had tried on numerous occasions to pick up on my wife, and that was not cool.

I jumped out of the car as soon as I parked. "Hey, sorry I'm late," I told her as I walked up. Mike turned to look at me walking towards them and decided to take a hike. I was sure that I was not giving him any sort of welcoming vibe in my stare.

"Hi," Bella said as she wrapped her arms around me and grimaced. "Yuck, why are you so sweaty?"

She took in my dirty appearance and raised her eyebrows waiting for my explanation.

"I was at the police station playing ball with your dad and a couple of other officers," I explained. "That's also why I'm late."

We got in the Volvo and I leaned toward her for a welcoming kiss. She backed away from me scrunching her nose. "What? I don't even get a kiss. Just our lips have to touch. My lips aren't sweaty."

She leaned in and pecked my lips quickly. "But, you stink."

"I don't stink," I said sniffing myself. Bella cracked open the passenger side window.

"Baby, you stink. Not as bad as you would after a game back in LA or after a real practice, but you certainly stink. And your haircut looks good, by the way." She smiled and slid her fingers through my hair making it stand on end. She pulled her hand from my hair and wiped it on her jeans. "But you're still gross and sweaty."

I put on my best pout face, and drove out of the parking lot and back to Bella's house. We got out of the car and went inside.

"Go and take a shower, and I'll make us a snack," she said tossing her backpack on the floor by the stairs.

"I'll still have to wear these clothes, you know." I informed her.

She smiled at me and marched up the stairs. I followed her into her room. She started opening and closing drawers on her dresser. Out of one drawer she pulled out my black long sleeve t-shirt that I had been missing since our first meeting in Boston. Out of the next drawer she pulled out a pair of my boxers. She pressed them into my chest and headed back downstairs to the kitchen.

"Where did you even get these?" I asked, "And why do you have my underwear?"

"Don't worry about it," she shouted from the kitchen. "Just get in the shower."

I shut the bathroom door and started the shower water. I stripped off my clothes, and jumped in the stream of water.

I wet my hair and looked around the shower for some shampoo. My choices were Bella's 'Strawberry Essence' shampoo and Charlie's 'Head and Shoulders'. I chose the 'Head and Shoulders' because at least I would still smell like a man after I got out. Luckily, Charlie used the same soap as I did, so there was no choice there. I certainly was not going to use Bella's fruity smelling shower gel. I picked it up and smelled it. It smelled great on her, but I was not going to use it. I smiled to myself as I put it back on the shelf that was full of feminine soaps and body washes. I wondered if this is what _our _shower in _our_ home would look like. Bella would have all of the space in the bathroom. My things would be overshadowed and would be pushed in the corner to accommodate her things. I didn't mind, she would be with me.

The Friday night before the picnic, Charlie let me stay over at the house with Bella. Even though we had to keep the bedroom door open, I was happy to be able to sleep with my wife. The next morning was the game, and we had to get up and get to the field early in the morning. Charlie must have heard me tell Bella that I wasn't sleeping very well over at the Cullen's, and that I slept much better with her next to me. I guess he wanted me to be fresh and rested for the big game. He must have really wanted to win to let me spend the night with his daughter. The last and only time had been after her surgery, when she wasn't feeling well and needed me.

We packed up the cooler with sodas and the lunch that Bella made for us. She had also made a big pan of Rice Krispy treats and had cut up a couple of watermelons to share with the rest of the picnic attendees.

Charlie had to stop by the station, before the picnic got started, so we took separate cars. Bella gave be directions to the park. It was a pretty good sized park for the size of town that it was in. It even had a baseball diamond with a small set of bleachers behind home plate.

People were already starting to arrive and it was only eight in the morning. They were setting up lawn chairs next to the two makeshift baseball diamonds further out in the grass.

There were to be several baseball games going on at the same time. There were eight teams this year: the Fork's PD team, Carlisle Cullen's team from the hospital, Newton's Outfitters' team (which, of course, had Mike Newton on it), a team from the Thriftway, a team from the high school that only had teacher's on it, and three teams that were made up of businesses that didn't have enough people working there to have their own team. It was a real mix of people. Men, women and children were there to play and have fun.

I grabbed the cooler from the trunk of my car with both hands, while Bella carried a couple of lawn chairs, a blanket, and the bag that held her dessert squares. We found a good spot and set up our picnic area. Just as we finished opening up the lawn chairs, we saw Dr. Cullen and Charlie walking up from the parking lot along with the dark haired woman from the station. Charlie carried two lawn chairs and a small cooler. Dr. Cullen had on a serious face as they neared us. The woman was smiling.

"So, Edward," Dr. Cullen started. "I hear that even though I gave you a place to live, and feed you, you are defecting to the PD team?" Crap, was he really mad?

"I…uh…yeah, I guess so," I finished not having any sort of excuse.

"Carlisle, Edward is not your family," Charlie said proudly, and dropped his arm over my shoulders. "He's mine."

I looked to Bella to see her reaction. She was beaming. The smile on her face could have probably been seen from space.

"That's fine. Just don't think that Emmett, Alice and I will be taking it easy on you because we like you," Carlisle taunted.

"Alice is playing?" Bella asked.

"Yep, believe it or not, she can get her hands dirty once in a while," Carlisle chuckled.

"Dad," Bella whined. "If Alice can play, why can't I?"

"Bells, honey, you could have played, but…uh," Charlie stuttered. "Edward, why don't you take this one?"

Bella turned to look at me. "Did you tell him I couldn't play?"

"No, baby," I cooed, putting my arms around her and rubbing up and down her back. "You just had surgery, you shouldn't overexert yourself."

"Umhmm," she hummed, but didn't pull out of my embrace. Instead, she put her arms around my waist and slid her hands under the back of my shirt.

Just then a loud laugh startled me. I turned to see Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper walking and laughing their way over to us.

"Hey, Chief Swan, ready to get second place again this year?" Emmett said as they came closer.

"We'll just have to wait and see, Emmett," Charlie grinned, winking at me.

A couple of announcements were made before everyone was allowed to get these games going. Apparently, there was some car wash that the Fork's High School cheerleaders were going to put on next weekend to earn money for them to attend Cheer Camp in the summer, a small family pleaded for everyone's help in finding a missing cat that had been lost a couple of days ago, and there was going to be a big sale going on at Newton's.

The eight teams drew straws as to who would play who first. All eight teams would play at the same time. The winners of those games would then play each other until the final match. All in all, if we made it to the final round, we would be playing three games today.

_**Bella**_

I plopped down into a chair as the boys were setting up their first game. I definitely wanted to watch Edward and my dad play, but I also wanted to watch Emmett and Alice too. The PD team and the Hospital team didn't have to play each other in the first round because they were first and second place last year.

I loved how Charlie was accepting Edward. He had started calling him 'son' all the time, and it made me so happy. Edward seemed to really enjoy Charlie's company as well. They talked fishing a lot. Edward had never been and since it was my dad's favorite past time besides watching sports on the TV, he had promised to take him soon.

I wasn't really bothered that I couldn't play, because seriously, I really _couldn't_ play. I was just giving them a hard time. The look on my father's face was priceless when I asked why I couldn't play. I think that he panicked a little. He really didn't want to lose to Dr. Cullen again, and he would have certainly lost with me playing.

When we got to the park and started setting up, I was a little thrown with the fact that my dad had brought Sue Clearwater to the game with him. Edward had told me his suspicions earlier, but I didn't believe him. But now, I saw it with my own two eyes. I think my dad might have a girlfriend. I smiled at the thought. It was about time for him to move on from my mother. It had been sixteen years since their divorce.

In the first round of games, the PD team played a team made up of teacher from the high school. Their only good player seemed to be the actual baseball coach. He was fuming by the time they were through the fifth inning. The PD team was way ahead by that time, and Edward was sitting out on Charlie's orders. He wanted him rested for the next game. Charlie assured him that they had this game in the bag and he wanted Edward to rest his pitching arm.

Edward and I kicked back in our lawn chairs and ate lunch while the game finished up. The rest of the games came to an end and everyone rested up by having lunch and sitting around for a little while before starting up the next round of games.

Alice and Emmett were whooping it up as they came and crashed on the grass beside us.

"That game was actually close," Emmett said excitedly. "The Thriftway must have hired half of the Fork's baseball team prior to the game."

"Yeah, and I hear that Newton's have the other half," Alice chimed in. "I think that that's cheating."

"They didn't make any rules against it, I guess," I said taking Edward's hand. He slid his fingers between mine.

"It's OK," Edward said. "We practiced the other day. I think we can take them. We play Newton's next."

"Good luck, we need you to win so that we can beat your asses in the final round," Emmett chuckled.

"Emmett, Emmett, Emmett, just so you know, I haven't even been trying today," Edward teased and patted Emmett's head. "Just wait until I'm fully warmed up, we'll wipe the field with you. Luckily your dad's a doctor."

"Them's fightin' words, Masen!" Emmett said loudly. A couple of people turned to look at us. I laughed and squeezed Edward's hand.

"Save it for the field, Em," Alice giggled.

"Boys," Alice and I both said in unison and laughed.

"So, what's the deal with the Chief and Sue Clearwater?" Emmett asked. "They seem pretty flirty today."

I had to agree with that. Sue watched the whole game from the dugout. She even had on a team shirt like I had, but she didn't play. She was constantly chatting with my dad through the whole game. I guess I would have to wait and see if Charlie said anything to me about her.

During the next set of games, I wandered back and forth between the two games that were the most important to me. The hospital team looked to be really good, and it was fun to watch little Alice shout at the grown men and women on her team when they messed up.

I went back to Edward's game and sat back in my chair. I missed baseball season back home. I loved to watch Edward's games. Well, I didn't really like the game; I just liked to watch Edward. He was always so serious looking when he was on the pitcher's mound. His baseball cap would be snug around his head and his hair would curl up around the edges. I couldn't see his eyes because it was dark under the bill of his hat. He had always worn long sleeves under his baseball jersey, but today he just had on the short-sleeved t-shirt Charlie had made up. Today, I could see the muscles in his arms flex and unflex as he wound up and threw the ball. He had worn a pair of old jeans today with a pair of old sneakers. Every now and then, he would stop and pull his hat off and wipe his face with the hem of his shirt, exposing his pale stomach and the top of his boxers that peeked out from under his pants. I shook my head to break myself out of my daydreaming. I looked up and saw Edward watching me. I blushed a little at being caught staring, and he smirked at me and winked.

The game against Newton's drug on forever and ever. Every time the PD team would do something good, Newton's would have a fit saying that they were somehow being cheated. Mike's dad even had the nerve to challenge that Edward was not family and demanded that he couldn't play. By the end of the second inning, they had to have someone from one of the teams that lost the first round of games step in and referee. The designated umpire was not enough.

Finally, the game ended with Newton's losing. Edward was all smug by the end of it. He had taunted Mike from the first pitch, and Mike was not a gracious loser. Mike had almost got himself thrown out of the game when he rushed the pitcher's mound and was flailing his arms around threatening Edward after Edward had 'accidently' hit him with the ball and Mike was walked to first base. Mike was nursing his sore arm, when Edward had turned to me and shrugged with a smirk firmly placed on his lips.

The next game was what everyone was waiting for. The hospital team had cleaned up against one of the teams made up of local business owners. The whole park congregated around the seating area of the main baseball diamond for the final game. A small table had been set out holding two trophies that designated first and second place.

My dad was giving Edward a few last minute tips before the game and Alice and Emmett were playfully scowling at me from the opposing team's dugout.

Rosalie and Jasper had been watching Emmett and Alice play between moseying over to my game and chatting for a while. Now, they were sitting on their team's side and I was alone with Sue Clearwater on mine.

"So," Sue started, and I looked at her. "Edward seems like a very nice boy."

"Um…yeah he is," I replied, nodding my head. I really didn't know what to say to the woman that may or may not be my dad's new girlfriend.

"Charlie seems really taken by him." I looked back at her. "He likes him a lot, Bella. I thought that you should know. Charlie isn't one to show his feelings, you know."

Yeah, I knew that, but how did she? "Are you and my dad together or something now," I blurted out.

Sue swallowed and pursed her lips. "I'm not sure that your dad wanted for it to come out like this," she said. "But, since you seem to have guessed, yes, we've started seeing each other."

"Oh," was my brilliant reply.

"I really care for him, Bella."

"No, no, I'm not mad or anything. It's just weird, I guess. I've never seen him with a girlfriend. Shoot, I've never even seen him when he was with my mom."

She nodded. I looked away from her when I heard cheering. The game had started.

Edward was on the pitcher's mound turning the ball loosely in his hand. I recognized that being something he did before he took his pitching stance. He had his serious face on, and his eyes were in the dark, shaded by the bill of his hat.

He wound up and threw the first pitch of the game. It was a strike, and I clapped loudly for my husband. I saw Edward's lips twitch. I knew that he had heard me.

They had been neck in neck during the entire game. By the bottom of the ninth, the hospital team had taken a two run lead, and it wasn't looking good for Edward's team.

Charlie was pacing back and forth in the dugout in front of his team. He had called a time out before his team lined up to bat. I could see Edward frowning at the words Charlie was saying. Edward had his hat off and was running his hand through his hair. That was a tell tale sign that Edward was nervous or agitated. I knew that he wanted to help the team get a win today, and now I could tell that he was frustrated with the thought that they might lose.

Over at the Cullen's dugout, they were smiling and were getting pumped up for the rest of the inning. They knew that if they could just get the three outs, they would win the game. Emmett was high-fiving everyone as they took the field. Emmett would be the catcher and Alice was pitching this time.

Officer Mark took to the plate and swung a few practice swings. I saw Alice nod her head to Emmett and she threw the ball.

Strike one.

Emmett stood and threw the ball back to Alice. She smiled brightly as she caught the ball. She wound up again and let the ball go.

Officer Mark clipped the ball with the tip of the bat, but it was enough for him to take off toward first base. He ran quickly to his destination, but the ball made it to the first baseman quicker, and he was out.

One down, two to go.

The next batter hit the ball out to left field and made it to second base before he had to stop.

The second out came quicker than the first. Dad had hit the ball far into the outfield, but it was caught immediately, and he was out. We still had a man on second.

I could tell my dad was getting worked up. His face was red and he was pacing the dugout again.

The next batter had made it to first and our man on second had only made it to third before the ball was caught by the third baseman.

Edward was up to bat next. Now, Edward was a good player, but pitching was his thing. I knew that he was sweating as he walked up to the plate, with being rusty at playing and having had no practice. His head was down as he licked his bottom lip. He picked up a bat and walked to just to the side of the plate. Edward placed the bat between his thighs and adjusted his hat on his head. He stretched his arms and swung them back and forth before taking the bat back into his hands and taking to the plate.

I could see Emmett saying something to him, but Edward remained focused. Alice nodded her head at Emmett, accepting the pitch that he had suggested. She wound up and let the ball fly. Edward swung.

Foul ball.

The team yelled some encouraging words to Edward as he retook his spot on home plate.

Alice threw the ball again, Edward swung.

Strike one.

Edward looked tense. He shrugged his shoulders a couple of times, and rolled his neck.

The next throw Edward remained still.

Strike two came with a string of curse words from Edward, and a shocked Sue that was still sitting next to me. Charlie was standing in the dugout running his hand over his face looking defeated.

Everyone retook their places. Edward stepped up to home plate and took his batting stance. Alice looked behind her to make sure that our runners were staying on their bases.

Out of nowhere my dad yelled startling everyone, including Alice who halted her movements.

"Edward," he shouted. "You get these two guys in and you can move into the house with Bella!"

Edward stood up straight and looked at Charlie. Charlie nodded answering Edward's silent question of 'are you serious?'" Edward turned his head and looked at me. I clasped my hands together and pressed them against my mouth. Edward took a deep breath and prepared to continue the game.

Maybe Alice and Emmett would somehow throw the game now. Answering my question was a time out that was called by Dr. Cullen. He walked out to the pitcher's mound and had a small conversation with Alice. She nodded her head and looked to me and mouthed 'I'm sorry'.

Emmett squatted back down behind home plate and Alice prepared to throw the ball.

The park was silent as Alice's arm whipped forward letting the ball go flying toward Emmett's mitt.

With a loud grunt from Edward and loud crack of his bat, the ball went flying far out into right field past the outfielders. They hustled out to the ball that was now bouncing in the grass far away from them.

The runner from third base made it home, our runner on first touched second base, then touched third and did a small victory dance on home. Edward jogged lazily around the bases with a huge smile on his face. We were now tied, and once Edward made it home, the PD team would win the game.

Emmett started shouting for the ball to be thrown to him. I looked back and noticed that the ball had made it to the second baseman. Edward was between third and home, and picked up his pace to make it home before the ball made it back to Emmett.

Edward slid into home just as the ball hit Emmett's mitt.

The park was silent for the second time today waiting for the umpire's call.


	23. Safe

The crowd was silent.

The dust settled, and the umpire yelled, "SAFE, SAFE, SAFE!"

Everyone cheered and ran to congratulate the winning team. When I reached Edward, he was dusting off his pants. I nearly knocked him over with the force of my hug.

Emmett, Alice and Dr. Cullen came to congratulate him with pats on the back. The smile on my dad's face was huge, as he also showed his congratulations by giving Edward a one arm hug around his shoulders.

After everything was packed back up and in the car, we approached my dad about our new living arrangements. My dad was still surfing the high of winning the game that he agreed that Edward should move in right away. For me, right away meant tonight.

Edward and I hopped in the Volvo and headed over to the Cullen house to pack up his things and bring them to my house.

"I'm so excited!" I squealed once we were in the car. "I can't believe Charlie's going to let you move in. It's really official now. My dad loves you."

Edward grinned at me. "He'll probably make me sleep on the couch."

"He wouldn't dare."

Edward just shrugged as he turned the car onto the Cullen's long driveway.

Edward didn't have a lot of belongings. Mostly it was just clothes. I hadn't really been over to the Cullen's house that much since Edward had been in town. We spent most of our time at my house or out around town. I felt a little sad that Edward had left everything behind to be with me. I only hoped that we would be able to make a home for ourselves soon. College wasn't until September, but with Edward's eighteenth birthday just a couple of months away, we could technically leave town early.

It's not that I wanted to leave Forks and my dad right after graduation, but I thought that it would be more comfortable for Edward. In our own apartment we would have our own things, and Edward wouldn't feel awkward with my dad around all the time. Plus, we would have the privacy that a newly married couple should have.

I packed up Edward's clothes in the two duffel bags that he had while he showered off all of the sweat and dirt from playing ball all day.

We had gotten up pretty early to get to the park on time, and I was exhausted. I laid back on the big bed that Edward had been sleeping on in the Cullen's guest bedroom. I must have dosed off for a few moments, because I was woken up with Edward's soft lips moving slowly along my jaw line and neck. I sighed in contentment with my eyes still closed and moved my hand to gently stroke the hair at the nape of Edward's neck.

He scooted closer, aligning his body along mine as he nuzzled his face into my neck. "I could stay here all day," he said as his hand massaged my hip.

"You can stay here all night starting tonight since we'll be living together finally," I reminded him. "Come on, let's go home."

We loaded up the car and headed to my house…our house. Turning onto my street I could see that the porch light was on. Charlie must be home already. I could also see that there was a black town car parked in front of the house. That must have been Sue Clearwater's car, though I had never noticed a car like that driving around Forks.

Edward pulled the car into the driveway next to Charlie's cruiser.

Edward and I were in good spirits this evening, and had been laughing and carefree on the drive to the house.

I grabbed one of the duffels from the back seat of the car as Edward slung the other one over his shoulder.

The front door was unlocked, and we went inside.

I could clearly hear my father's voice from the kitchen. "There's not much you can do to them now. It's too late, they're married," he said. His words didn't make any sense until another voice spoke, and Edward tensed up.

"I don't care if they are married or not. My son is not going to waste his life being married to _her_. They will get an annulment and he will marry the girl that he is supposed to marry, end of story."

"Now wait a minute…" my dad started before Edward dropped the duffel he was carrying and started toward the kitchen. I dropped the bag I had and followed behind him cautiously.

We entered the kitchen to find a sort of stand off between my dad and Edward's father. They were both standing on opposite sides of the kitchen table glaring at each other. Sue was seated at one end of the table and Edward's mother was seated at the other end.

"I don't know where you get off talking about my daughter like she's some sort of trash," my father continued.

"Whatever I think of your daughter, she is not going to remain married to _my_ son. He needs to get back on track with his life. He's done playing house with your daughter. This has gone on long enough. He's had his fun sewing his oats so to say, and now he needs to concentrate and get serious about his future."

Both fathers halted their conversation as we walked into the room.

"Oh, Edward," Edward's mother said sounding relieved to see her son again. She stood from the table and tried to embrace him.

Edward backed up and put his hand out to stop her. "You're not welcome here," Edward growled out. "You should leave."

"Edward, this has gone on too long already," Edward Sr. said. "I let you be for too long as it is. It's time to say goodbye to your little plaything and come home with us."

Edward's brow furrowed in confusion and anger.

"Did you really think that I didn't know where you were?" Edward Sr. scoffed. "I've known your whereabouts since you left school. Did you think that I was that stupid?"

Edward swallowed thickly. "I'm not going anywhere with you." I could tell that his father intimidated him. He had told me that much when we had first started dating. Edward's father had a way of bringing Edward to tears just by talking to him. Edward had been ashamed of that fact. He hated the affect his father had on him.

"You are, and you will," Edward Sr. said, his voice changing into something harsher. "You will not ruin your life by staying here. Is that what you want Edward, to live like this? You have a Harvard education waiting for you, and a woman with a much higher social class."

"I don't care what you say; I'm not going with you. Get over it. You running my life is over. I'm married to Bella, and there really isn't anything you can do to change that."

"How did I know that you were going to say something like that?" Edward Sr. laughed. "I've taken the liberty of drawing up the necessary paperwork to dissolve your marriage. You just need to sign it."

"I won't."

By this time, all eyes were on Edward and his father. Sue and Edward's mom were quietly listening. Both of them acted like they had no say in what happened. Sue really didn't have a say, but Edward's mother did, but she remained quiet as her husband and son argued.

Charlie remained quiet, but watched closely in case he had to jump in, not as Charlie the father in law, but as Chief Swan the police chief.

Edward's father's face grew redder every second as Edward refused to follow his wishes.

Edward Sr. marched around the kitchen table toward his son. He took Edward's face in his right hand just under Edward's jaw and pushed him into the wall. "You are still seventeen. I still own you," his father seethed.

Edward pulled at his father's hand as his face scrunched up in pain or anger. I couldn't tell. I started screeching at Edward Sr. to let Edward go, but I was ignored. That's when my dad stepped in.

"Let him go, Mr. Masen."

My father's orders were given upon deaf ears. Edward Sr. kept his hand around Edward's jaw. He ordered Edward's mother to bring him the papers that would dissolve my marriage. He was trying to force Edward into signing the papers.

By this time I was crying and scared. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't want everything that we had gone through to be wasted, and for Edward's father to get his way. Once those papers were signed by Edward it would only be a matter of time before our marriage would be over, and he would be forced to marry some other woman and live the life that his father wanted him to.

I was about to go into a real life panic attack when Sue stood and came to my rescue. She put her arms around me and held me close to her as my life came undone in front of me.

My dad finally took a little action, and pushed himself in between the father and son. "Don't make me arrest you for abuse to your son," my father growled out. "It is clear that both parties do not want to sign these papers, and since this is my house, you are no longer welcome, and I suggest you leave."

My father and Edward Sr. stood face to face in a staring contest. "This isn't over," Edward Sr. said through gritted teeth. "Elizabeth!" he shouted as he headed toward the door. Edward's mother trotted along behind his father. The door slammed, and Edward jerked, awakening him from the anger filled daze he was in.

I flew from Sue's arms to Edward's. We held each other tightly as my father paced the kitchen floor.

"Dad," I said quietly. "Can he really make us get divorced?" Both Edward and I looked to my father for some reassurance.

"I'm pretty sure he can't," Charlie sighed. "Since you are officially married, and you live with one parent, I don't think he has a case. But, you have to live here because Edward does not have a job. He has to be able to support the two of you financially for him to be released from his parents' control."

"Do you know that for sure?" Edward asked.

"Yes, I actually looked into this when the two of you came home. I honestly was not excited to see that my daughter had gotten married, and I wanted to end your marriage."

I looked to Edward in a panic. My dad didn't want us married either.

"Settle down, Bells," Charlie said. "I'm OK with it now. I can see that the two of you love each other. I'll do all that I can to keep you together."

I rushed over to my dad and hugged him hard. "Thanks, dad," I said into his shirt.

After everyone had settled down some after Edward's parents left and Edward and I were safely in my room…our room, I snuggled into Edward's side. He held me close and pulled his fingers through my hair. "It will work out, Bella, I promise," Edward said into my forehead before he kissed it.

We were both over exhausted, and fell into a restless sleep. I kept waking throughout the night, and after I made sure that Edward was still next to me, I dozed back off to sleep.

The doorbell ringing in the morning woke us both up. I had flashbacks of the last time that happened. My mother was the one doing the ringing. I could only assume it would be Edward's parents back for round two.

Edward and I curiously walked down the stairs and opened the door when we saw through the peep hole that it was only Officer Mark at the door.

"Hey, Officer Mark," I greeted him as he stood uncomfortably on my front porch. I worried that maybe something had happened to my dad, since he had left for work already.

"Hey, Bella," he said. "Whose silver car is this out front?"

"It's mine," Edward said opening the door further.

Officer Mark sighed. "I'm really sorry guys, but this car has been reported as stolen by an Edward and Elizabeth Masen. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you in, Edward."

**AN: So the law stuff...Yeah, I'm not a lawyer or anything so I don't know what would really happen in a situation like this. I asked a cop about it and this is pretty much what he told me. But, this is from the state I live in and not Washington. The state I live in can be a little wacky about this kind of stuff, so please keep an open mind.**


End file.
